Differences
by JewelsMax
Summary: What happens when a group of female vampire hunters, Bella, Rose, Alice, and Esme, meet a group of male golden-eyed vampires, Emmet, Jasper, Edward, and Carlisle, the type of vampire who'd killed their father so many years ago? BPOV. Occasional EPOV.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything twilight related.**

A/N

**Facts:**

**Yes, in this fanfic, the girls and boys have their vampiric abilities. Well, by that, I mean that Alice can see the future. Bella has her shield. Jasper has that mood thing going on for him and Edward has his mind reading abilities. But the girls aren't super strong and they're not super fast. Though, they're stronger and a bit faster than normal humans.  
**

**(If anybody has anymore questions, you can PM me or ask me in a review and I'll reply to that and post it in this little box area thingie) :)**

**Oh and, please review anyway. It's my first fanfic and I'm trying to get as much feedback as possible.  
**

* * *

_I was breathing hard and giving it my all as a particular group of revenge-driven vampires attacked Ian and me. Ian and I had been in my car in a clearing in the woods. We'd been making out like mad, but what do you expect of a couple in love?_

_But then, the roof of the car was ripped off and both of us were being dragged out by vampires. We were surrounded by more than ten vampires. They'd said they wanted revenge for killing their leader. And that's when I was overcome by guilt because Ian had nothing to do with it. He didn't even know about the world I was involved in. He was just a regular human whereas I, I was something totally different, a vampire hunter who'd been tracked and was too busy to realize it. I was an idiot.  
_

_Of course, he then saw the real me when I whipped out a sword that had been cleverly stashed under the backseats and got ready to use it. I knew I was outnumbered but that didn't stop me from fighting my hardest. I was _not_ going to lose someone I loved again. Not again. _

_So when there were only two vampires left who were focused on me, I turned to Ian and shouted, "Run! Ian, run! Run as fast as you can!" One of the vampires kicked me in the chest and I fell back with a grunt. Ian who'd been looking behind him at me as he ran away, ran back to me._

"_No! Go back!" I shouted. The vampire that kicked me now stepped on my chest to silence me. I felt the breath go out of me. Then I realized that I didn't see the other vampire. Wait… "NO! IAN! RUN!!!" I shouted as loud as I could, but it was too late. The other vampire had already run out of hiding and tackled Ian to the ground. Before Ian could register what had happened, the vampire looked at me with a triumphant look in his eyes. Then, he bit Ian's neck viciously and a fountain of red spurted out of his neck._

_All the breath that I had left escaped my lungs. Then I breathed in deep and yelled, "IAN!!!!" Tears sprang to my eyes. Ian's head fell to the side, and his beautiful green eyes looked into mine. "I… love you, Bells," were his last words. I struggled against the vampire. "No, no, no, no, no," I chanted over and over again. That was the fourth love I'd lost in my life, not including my father. _

_As I forcefully pushed the vampire that had me pinned away and slayed both vampires, I promised I'd never find someone else to love again. Never again. _Never again, _I thought, _I'm so sorry, Ian. _I looked down at the changing Ian and brought myself to sever his head to stop the change from taking him over. "I love you, too," I whispered._

_I then drove home in my ruined car to my mother and sisters, where we once again planned to move._


	2. Fingerprints

_Damn, _I thought as I drove my family and me to our vacation house, _It's way too green here._

"Bella," Alice whined, her short black hair bobbing with her shaking head as she bounced up and down in her seat, "Are we there _yet?_"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yes, Alice. We're here. That's why there are no buildings in sight," I said, my voice dripping sarcasm.

"Hey," Mom, Esme Swan, said, "You can drop that sarcastic tone." I shrugged and kept driving.

"Can't you go any faster?" Rosalie complained. I sighed. Alice, the little pixie brat, answered, "She will." Ugh. Really. Sometimes, I hated that precognitive ability of hers.

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah," I muttered. I sped up to 180 mph. Rose'd thought we were going slow, in my bright red Ferrari, at 150. I rolled my eyes again. We made it to Forks an hour earlier than we were supposed to. We pulled up to the secluded white house in the middle of two thin woods. The house was two stories and fairly large. It had been the house my family had been staying in, including my late father, when he'd met his untimely demise and when we'd met our ugly fate. The sight of it triggered many unpleasant memories and I wasn't looking forward to stepping foot in the house. Fortunately, we'd had some of our other vampire hunter friends to bring our stuff over and put everything away in the house. Ah, the favors you could get when you'd been part of the Vampire hunting Association for more than 150 years.

My family and I were not vampires. But we aged incredibly slowly. You think that's cool? Yeah, uh-huh. Try having to go through a puberty that lasted more than 10 years. Ha. Ha. Yeah. Remembering those times still made me want to punch someone in the gut. I shook off my hostility. That tended to happen a lot lately. I was growing tenser by the second and this made my hostility level rise quite a bit. And it wasn't like I'd had a low hostility level in the first place, anyway. Mom put a hand on my shoulder, as if she could sense my feelings. I gave her a weak smile and we got out of the car.

I studied the front lawn. The grass was so green it almost looked neon and there were no flowers or weeds. The trees were equally green, even their tree trunks, which I was pretty sure were supposed to be brown, were green with moss. I sighed. I missed the cities. My family and I had to move around a lot so that no one would ask questions and we'd only ever been in a small town just in passing. But now, we were supposed to vacation in Forks for _two_ _months_. I was going to go crazy, I just knew it.

I then moved on to studying the house. The house was painted white and the roof was made of dark-blue shingles. It was an old fashioned house, obviously. It had a large white, railed porch and a second story porch, almost identical to the one below it. There were three small stone steps leading to the porch and a cement pavement that lead to the steps. There was a large swinging bench there, a newer addition. I walked up the stone steps and looked at the house. My heart twisted in pain as I recognized the place Dad had helped me walk and where we'd watched the sunset and the sunrise together. (I know I was young but I remembered everything, unfortunately)

When the incident happened, I'd been older than Alice and Rosalie. Since I had the venom inside my system longer than they had, I aged the slowest out of all of them. When Alice and Rosalie had overlapped me a while ago, I'd started bawling my eyes out. They'd tried to comfort me but I was quiet and more to myself, than usual, for a few months after that. Eventually, I'd warmed up to the idea of it. It was still weird, because I still had the older sister instincts, so often, we'd look like a really weird family with an older Rosalie and Alice whining and younger me trying to reason with them.

I returned to the present. Mom, Rosalie and Alice had already gone inside the house. I looked at the white door. A flash of a memory of opening the door for a golden-eyed vampire flitted through my mind. My heart twisted and this brought more memories of painful times, the loves I had lost... and the most recent. _Ian_, my mind whispered. I felt like I was still grieving. But that was stupid. I suppressed the memories and stared at the door, again. I wasn't sure I was ready just yet. So, instead of walking inside the house, I walked around it to the large building behind the house where we had all of our cars. Besides my Ferrari F430, I had a black and red Honda CBR 600 motorcycle. Alice had a bright yellow 911 Turbo Porsche, Rose had a red BMW M3 convertible, and Esme had a regular mini-van.

I entered the plain and mostly bare garage and walked to my beautiful motorcycle. I stroked its side and decided to take a quick ride around. I grabbed my keys out of my pocket. I looked down at what I was wearing. I was in worn out jeans and Street Vision sneakers. I was also wearing a plain brown shirt. I shrugged. I thought I looked okay. I grabbed my motorcycling jacket hanging on a hook in the corner of the garage and my helmet. I tugged my jacket on and my helmet followed. I steered my motorcycle towards the garage door. I opened it and walked it to the driveway.

"I'm going out!" I yelled towards the open front door, hoping they'd hear me.

Then, I hopped onto my motorcycle and turned it on. I smiled at the familiar feeling of my motorcycle. I took a deep breath, brought my legs up, and sped off into town. Forks was a very small town. It made me self-conscious as I rode down the small streets. Everyone looked at me funny. I wasn't going fast at all in town. In fact, I was riding at 30 mph. I enjoyed the snail's pace. It gave me time to study the town and think.

I made a note of all the stores. I saw a grocery store, just what I needed, and pulled into the small parking lot. I parked my motorcycle and took off my helmet, shaking out my hair, which I knew was really messy. I didn't really care at the moment. I placed my helmet on one of the handles on my motorcycle and stepped off. The people in the parking lot turned to look at me, and I looked down, embarrassed. I saw that the people here had regular cars, nothing good. Though, I did see a silver Volvo. Nice. I wondered who owned that.

I walked into the grocery store. I grabbed a cart and scrolled through the vegetables and fruits. I was well aware of all the stares I was getting but ignored them. I was especially aware of an obnoxious group of teenage boys who were checking me out and talking about me. I heard a lot of, "Dude, she's _hot!"_ comments. I tried not to laugh out loud, but I did shake my head and I blushed. I picked up a bunch of celery, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and salad leaves. Then, I turned to the meat department. I got some steaks, chicken, pork chops, and fish. The teenage boys, just three of them, followed me but tried not to look conspicuous.

One of them was black, the other was asian, and one more was white. I rolled my eyes at how they were looking at me. I was actually really plain. I didn't get what they saw in me. _Wait until they see my sisters,_ I thought and groaned internally, _They'll have the whole school's male population drooling and fawning over them in no time. _I shook my head with a wry smile and passed by the butcher to get to the milk aisle.

There were three teenagers that I passed, though they seemed different. They seemed less awkward and more graceful. One was very large, as in muscular, with dark and curly hair. Another had honey blond hair and was taller and leaner but his muscle was still obvious. The last boy had untidy bronze-colored hair and was less lanky and bulky. They looked way different, but they looked the same. All three of them had chalky white skin and golden eyes. Though, the honey blond haired one's eyes were black. Something about them tickled the back of my mind but I shrugged it off.

I ignored them and went to the milk and orange juice aisle. I bought two gallons of milk and one gallon of orange juice. Then, I walked to the Chips aisle. I grabbed some cheetohs and lays and made my way towards the soda aisle. I got three 24-packs of coca-cola and a large pack of Gatorade

I walked to the check out counter. The cashier looked surprised when she saw me and all my stuff.

"Are you new here?" she asked, shyly.

I smiled at her, "Yeah. For a while, at least. My family's vacationing here."

Her name tag read "Angela". She looked at me skeptically and asked, "You're vacationing in _Forks_?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Some of my relatives used to live here a while ago. We used to visit so it's basically just to reminisce," I answered. The girl nodded. "Cool," she replied.

I looked behind me and saw that a line had formed. It was both groups of teenage guys. I looked at what the groups were buying. They all had way less stuff than I did. I smiled shyly at the group directly behind me, the three human boys. Their gazes turned gooey-eyed when they saw me smile at them. I gave the same shy smile to the other group of boys. They didn't seem to react to me.

"Umm," I said, "You can let the rest of the line go first. I'd just take too long and I forgot that I took my motorcycle and not my car. I'll have to call my sisters anyway…" I trailed off. The cashier nodded and pushed my stuff at the end of the table. "Thanks," I said. I walked towards a far corner of the store and pulled out my cell phone. Rose picked up on the fourth ring. "Hey," she said as a greeting, "What happened to you? You just disappeared."

"I went to buy groceries."

"With your motorcycle?"

"Okay, so I didn't think it through all the way."

"Obviously."

I rolled my eyes.

"Anyways," I said, "We have a problem."

"What is it?"

"I can't bring all the groceries home with just my motorcycle," I said. I could practically hear Rose roll her eyes. "I'll go come and get you," she said, reluctantly.

"Thanks," I said.

Rose answered, "Sure, sure."

I waited for Rose to arrive. I walked back to the cashier and said, "You can ring me up, and I can wait outside." She nodded and started scanning my items. I used my credit card and hauled all the bags outside. I walked to my motorcycle and set down my bags there. I leaned against my bike and took out my cell phone. I looked at the time and then looked back up at the sky. It was dark gray, threatening to pour at any minute.

A few minutes later, I heard laughter and I looked up to see the three gangly teenage boys.

"Hey," the black one said, "I'm Tyler. This is Mike," he pointed to the white kid and he gave me a nod. Tyler continued, "And this is-" the asian cut him off and said, "Eric."

I smiled small at that. "I'm Bella," I said. I was a hell of a fighter when engaged in combat with a vampire but talking to humans and walking without tripping in front of normal humans? Yeah, impossible. I was impossibly shy when it came to humans.

Mike appraised my motorcycle. "Is that _yours_?" he asked incredulously.

I chuckled. "Yeah..." I answered.

Just then, Rose pulled into the parking lot in her car and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Not a moment too soon," I muttered under my breath but, by the look the three boys shared, they hadn't heard me. I grabbed all of the bags. It was kind of hard but I managed. I weight-lifted but weight lifting was different when you had metal handles instead of slippery plastic handles. I ran to her and told her, "Pop the trunk," and she did.

She popped it open and Tyler whistled. "Nice car," he appraised. Rosalie gave him a small smile and Tyler's face brightened.

I said, "Well, it was cool meeting you. See you around." I turned to Rose. "See you at home," I said. I gave the boys one last shy smile before I turned on my heel and jogged to my motorcycle. I straddled my motorcycle and buttoned up my jackey. I looked around the parking lot casually, and saw the other more muscled teenage boys talking while getting into the silver Volvo.

I shook out my hair again and stared at my helmet. I didn't want to wear it, but I had to wear something to protect my eyes. I sighed. I turned to the compartment in my motorcycle and took out my sunglasses. I stored my helmet and turned on my motorcycle. I smiled again at the feel of its purring. I pulled out of my parking space and saw Mike, Tyler, and Eric staring at me. I popped a wheelie and sped out of the parking lot, laughing at the three boys' expressions.


	3. I Caught Myself

At long last, I stepped through the threshold of my very, very old home. I looked around. It looked different from back then. There was new furniture, a long sofa and three loveseats. There was a large TV against the wall and underneath it was a brick fireplace. The fireplace was familiar to me and so was the color of the walls. The walls were painted a light yellow.

But way back when, there was definitely no big screen TV and the furniture wasn't as modern and colorful. The furniture was a light red. The flooring was new too. It was laminate. Mom had told me that there would be a lot of new additions to the house, so I guess I wasn't surprised.

The first room you walked into from the porch is the living room. Then came the dining room, which connected to the kitchen. I recognized the dining table but not the ten or so chairs that surrounded it. The kitchen was completely new to me. There were new white cabinets and tile counters and a silver sink divided into two by a small patch of tile.

There was also a large white refrigerator. Next to the refrigerator was a familiar door that I knew lead down to the basement. I shivered. The door still gave me the shivers from the one time I had walked down there when I was young. There was another door next to that and I guessed it was the pantry.

I wondered what all the renovation was for. The grocery bags were on the counter so, I got to work. I threw my keys on the counter and started taking out the things I bought. I put all the perishables in the fridge and the freezer. Then I stored all the non-perishables in the pantry. So far, I hadn't heard anybody since I got home, which was unusual.

"Mom?" I called.

"Upstairs!" she answered.

_She's probably just settling down for the two months we're supposed to be here,_ I thought. I shrugged and bounded upstairs. Once you went up the stairs, you came to a hallway that split in opposite ways, to the left and to the right. In either branch of the hallway, there were three bathrooms and twelve bedrooms. So there were about six bathrooms and twenty-four bedrooms in all, on the top floor. That number didn't count the two bathrooms and two extra bedrooms downstairs.

I turned towards the corridor where I could see three bedroom doors open and spilling light onto the wood flooring. They were all next to each other and I could only guess that these were the rooms my sisters and Mom had picked to sleep in during our short stay. I came up to the first room and peeked inside.

I saw Alice painting her room's walls. Knowing her, her clothes were probably put away in perfect order. I saw that all her photo frames and all the stuff from her previous room were set up here.

"Alice," I asked slowly, "Why are you painting your room for a two month vacation?"

She shrugged and replied, "Mom said we could do whatever we want with our rooms."

"I thought we were just renting the place," I said, "for _two months_."

"God, Bells, yes," Alice said, "Two months, only." She rolled her eyes.

"Have you seen anything?"

"Concerning our vacation?"

"Yeah."

"Nah, I haven't been watching out for stuff like that."

"Have you been watching out for stuff at all?"

"No. We're on _vacation._"

I rolled my eyes at her and moved on to the next door. It was Rose's room. I saw that all of her possessions were here too and she was posting up a bunch of photos of us with tacks on her wall.

"Rose?" I asked slowly.

She didn't turn to me when she asked, matching my tone, "Yes, Bella?"

"Don't you think bringing all of our stuff here is a bit weird for a two month vacation?"

She just shrugged and I sighed and walked to the next room. "Mom?" I asked, entering her room. I saw her with a hammer in her hand, getting ready to pound a nail into the wall. I stopped her before she split the wood of the wall.

"Wait!" I yelled.

She stopped and I let out a breath I'd been holding.

"You're supposed to drill a hole first," I explained.

"Ooohh," she replied.

I shook my head at her with a wry smile. I picked up a drill from our toolbox beside her bed. I moved to the wall and drilled a hole where she'd poised to nail earlier. I then used the hammer to drive the nail in the wall. I was about to hammer the nail all the way into the wall when Mom held my elbow, stopping my swing.

"It's going to be for a photo frame," she explained.

She handed me a painted portrait of our whole family when Dad was alive. My breath hitched in my throat. This particular portrait was one of the whole family's most prized possessions. It was the only portrait left of out father.

But that Mom would bring it _on vacation_ with us when she was so anal about it back home confused the heck out of me. That was when I knew something was up, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. Instead of saying anything, I looked at the other framed pictures in her hand and I moved on to the next nail in the wall.

When we were on the last nail for the last frame, Mom called Alice and Rose into the room. They sat on her bed while Mom stood next to me and I worked on the next hole for the picture.

"So," Mom began, "I know Rose and Bella have been around Forks. But, what about you Alice?"

"I have," she replied, "I was in the backseat when Rose went to go pick up the groceries from Bella. She just didn't see me."

I remembered that Rose's car windows were so tinted that they looked black. I looked behind me and stuck my tongue out at Alice. She did the same and we giggled at out immaturity. You'd think after having been around the world for more than 150 years, you'd be mature but, apparently not.

"So," Mom continued slowly, "What do you think of it?"

"I think it's awesome," Alice said enthusiastically, "It's so small and cute."

"Yeah," Rose answered, "Everyone's so close here and I think I saw a unique clothing store somewhere in town. And besides, I already have half of the male population of Forks drooling at my heels and we've only been here for, what? A few hours?"

I sighed. Typical Rose, always all about the vanity. I shrugged my shoulders and continued drilling. I was taking my time with this one.

"And you, Bella?" Mom asked.

"It's…okay," I answered, "Way different from back then, but yeah. It's nice. Why do you ask?"

Then, Mom hesitated. That wasn't good. Nobody in the family really hesitated. Why was she hesitating? Then Alice gasped and her jaw dropped. "Oh," was all she said. No doubt she just "saw" what Mom was going to tell us. The drill in my hand began to shake and I clutched it tighter so I didn't mess up the hole I was still drilling.

"Well," Mom began, "I wanted to know what you liked of it because… Well, because… We're moving here. Well, actually, we're already moved and I just wanted to know if you liked the town before I sprang the news on you."

She sprang the news on us alright. Rose's jaw dropped and Alice's stayed dropped, while I accidentally drilled a very large hole in the wall that would never fit any nail or screw known to man.

"Ah, crap," I muttered.


	4. Love Addict

"When did you decide this and why weren't we in on the decision?" Rose demanded.

Mom answered, "Well, it was kind of impulsive and last minute. Besides, wasn't it almost time for us to move anyway?"

It was silent for a minute in the Swan house. I had put down the drill and, with my back to the wall, I slid to the ground after Mom's shocking news. No one ever made a decision and acted upon it without getting the others' opinions.

It was true that it was almost time to move but… move to Forks? She knew how much pain the incident had caused me. I mentally slapped myself for that one thought. I was being selfish and not thinking of the others, I knew. I sighed.

"Come on, girls," Mom said, "It'll be great. Wouldn't it be amazing to live here again? We can finally get over the whole Dad incident."

"Why would we want to get over Dad's death anyway?" Alice asked, "Isn't that why we pledged our lives to rid the world of vampires?"

"Well, yes," Mom answered, "But, dear, that is what most people would call revenge and, well, don't you think it's high time that you girls started _living_?"

"Rose and I have lives, Mom!" Alice argued, "Bella is the one who hasn't lived ever since Ian di-"

She shot a look at my face and didn't finish her sentence. I pretended I didn't hear it and ignored the lash of pain that struck my chest.

Alice continued finishing her sentence but changed the wording, "Since over 30 years ago!"

_Thanks Alice,_ I thought silently, _Wonderful of you to remind me. _She shot me a look as if she knew what I was thinking and she stuck her tongue out at me. For once, I didn't comply. I saw in Alice's eyes the hurt and shock of my non-compliance. I pushed away the big sisterly urge to make it better.

"Mom," Rose asked softly, "Are you sure that it was because you wanted us to get over Dad's death and not because _you_ wanted to get over Dad's death and you thought this would help?"

Mom sucked in her breath and I knew that Rose's direction was the wrong way to go. Mom wasn't that type of person. She was compassionate and always thought of others first. I held my breath and got closer to the wall, expecting Mom to blow up. Instead, she just blew the air back out of her mouth and was silent for a few moments before she finally replied.

"It's for all of us," she said, "Moving here was supposed to be so that _all_ of us would let go of everything in the past. I knew that we probably couldn't let go of everything at once, so I thought we should begin with the first loved one we lost."

I knew that the part of her explanation where she said "we need to let go of everything in the past" was directed at me. Mom had just lost the one love of her life, our dad, Charlie, and hadn't moved on. So, Mom didn't date. Rose and Alice had dated around a lot, but I doubt they were ever really _in love_ with any of the boys they dated, so that left Dad as the loved one they lost.

But me, I fell in love with four guys within the span of about 40 years. Not right after Dad's death, though. I grew up to the age of what looked like 13 but really it was about 80 years after Dad died.

When I looked 14, I fell in love with a guy named Dan. He was the sweetest guy ever. He was the kind of boy that just held you close for no reason to make you feel loved. Vampires killed him.

Years later, I still looked 14, I fell in love with another boy named Sean. He was also one of the sweetest guys ever. He tried to cheer me up after I told him how I lost my dad and my old boyfriend. He was the type of guy who gave you all of his attention whenever you needed it. And guess what? Vampires killed him.

Another decade passed and I looked around the age of 15. I fell in love with a guy named John. He confided in me one day about the death of his mother and then I confided in him about the death of my father and two old boyfriends. We talked to each other about it and he was always there for me. Once again, vampires killed him.

More years passed and then I met Ian. He was straightforward and adorable as hell. He was snarky and sarcastic but I loved that about him. He was also sweet and caring. The shell I had kept myself in back then fascinated him. He said he wanted to crack it ("to see what was inside" were his words) and he did. Then we got close, really close. Sooner than later we were in love and the feeling was amazingly stronger than the boys before him.

I remember warning him that every guy I fell in love with ended up dying. His reply was, "If I die, then at least I'd know you really felt about me the way I feel about you." After a while, my heart started to heal and it was all thanks to Ian. But when, once again, vampires stole away the man I loved, my heart broke beyond repair and I hadn't healed since. I'd known that I'd unintentionally killed all four of them and it hurt me. Apparently, I didn't hide it that well.

"Mom," I whispered, "You didn't have to move us all here just to help me to get on with my life."

"Darling," Mom said, "Yes, I did. You… you're a walking zombie. No, not even. You're worse than a zombie. You're lost and revenge-driven. I see it in your eyes all the time. You're almost always looking for a fight. I know how you feel, Bella, I lost your father. But, I'm trying to deal with my own problem while trying to help you deal with yours."

"I don't have problems that I have to deal with, Mom," I said stubbornly.

Rose and Alice shared a glance and then looked pitifully back at me. I hated that. I hated it when they showed me their pity. I hated how I could tell that they were blaming me for the move to Forks but were trying not to because they saw how much pain I was in. I hated how _they_ were finally trying to act like big sisters but were failing miserably.

I couldn't stop my tears from flowing because I had no idea that I was going to start crying. Just suddenly, my vision was blurred and then I was running. Out of Mom's room and all the way down the next hallway and into the room farthest away from my family's. I locked the door. When I plopped down on the bed, I saw that, somehow, someone had known that this was the room I would be taking since all of my stuff was set up in here.

And I was most definitely taking this room. I sure as hell wasn't going to be taking a room anywhere near my family's any time soon. There was a knock at my door and I yelled, "Go away!" My tears had stopped flowing once I knew I was crying. I was good at that. I was good at hiding my feelings from people's watchful eyes.

"I'm coming in anyway," Rose said and I heard Alice sing, "Me too," right after her.

I sighed. I really didn't want to talk to them right now. What could they possibly want with me after I made it so clear that I wanted to be alone? But, by the way Rose kept banging on my door, they weren't giving up any time soon.

"I see you letting us in sometime soon, Bella. Just give in now," Alice said.

I groaned and stared daggers at the door.

"Get in," I growled and opened my door before plopping down on my bed again, face down.

"Now, Bella, Mom just means best," Rose said

"I know, I know," I answered.

"You… you really need to move on," Alice said, gently.

So fast that she couldn't have a vision about it, I decided to throw a pillow at her and I did. It hit her square in the face. Rose laughed and I'm sure I had a smug expression on my face. Alice just glared at me.

"Well, that is just one of the signs that you have many, many, many problems," Alice said, trying to be mean.

I just gave her a grin that didn't reach my eyes. I'm guessing she and Rose saw the flash of pain in my eyes because they suddenly tackled me to the bed with a hug. They ended up on top of me and were squeezing me like crazy. I could barely breathe.

"Guys," I wheezed, "Suffocating."

They giggled as they got off me and I took deep breaths of air.

"Hey," I said softly to get their attention.

They stopped giggling and turned serious. They looked at me.

"I think we should try," I continued, "For Mom's sake."

Rose and Alice both rolled their eyes at me and gave each other a "she's-clueless" look.

"She isn't really concerned about us trying, Bells," Rose said.

"Yeah," Alice agreed, "She's been really worried about you. Scratch that. All three of us have been really worried about you. We really want you to get on with your life."

I shrugged my shoulders but pain lashed at my chest. It reminded me of the time I'd lost all four guys. It felt like a hole had been ripped in my chest. Remnants of the pain still stayed with me, lashing out at me when I came into contact with things that remind me of them. It felt like it kept me from being happy and moving on. But that was just my imagination, wasn't it?

But, what Alice said was along the lines of what Ian said to me when I told him how many people I'd lost. He'd told me to get on with my life and that if he had to, he'd help me do it. But that was so long ago and he was gone. And it was my fault. I mentally shook myself.

"Silly girls," I said and pulled them in for a hug, "Of course I'm going to try."

_But that doesn't mean it'll happen,_ a voice at the back of my head whispered. I shook my head. I had to stay positive. I had to seriously try. And then I almost laughed at myself. Me? Positive? I'd never been that way but I had to try. Still, I had to stop my laughter before it could escape my mouth.

"Good," Alice said, startling me.

I thought she knew what I'd thought and so I froze. But then she gave me a quizzical look before clapping her hands together and giving me a huge grin.

"Good," she explained, "Because we're going to start high school this Monday."

I groaned. High school? Ugh. And we started in two days? That just sucked. I hated school, especially high school. Teenagers got vicious. I made a face but Alice and Rose were too busy talking about what they were going to wear to notice what I was doing. I groaned again.

From the snippets of the conversation I could actually understand, I had a feeling that I was going to have to beat all of the male high school population away from them with a stick and that I'd have to deal with the entire female high school population complaining about them. I took a deep breath and sighed.

_Just freakin' perfect,_ I thought.


	5. Iris

Sooner than I wanted, it was Monday and Alice was bouncing up and down on my bed, telling me to wake up. My first day at Forks High School was today. Woop-de-freaking-doo. Alice sensed my feelings and gave me a look.

I raised my eyebrows at her, daring her to say something about it. She sighed but then clapped her hands together and squealed.

"Let's get you dressed!" she said.

I mentally cursed myself and muttered incoherently that I had to take a shower before she ambushed me and played Barbie with me. She rolled her eyes and I quickly walked to the bathroom to escape Alice. Because once she started, she never stopped. And I am not exaggerating, unfortunately.

In the bathroom, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then, I took a really warm shower, letting the water's temperature seep into my bones. I was getting into that weird zen feeling you got when you showered. You know, when the water relaxes your muscles and you don't really think about anything, you just focus on getting yourself clean?

"Bella!" Alice suddenly shouted with a bang on the bathroom door, making me jump and almost slip while throwing all resemblance of peace I'd just reached out the window.

"What?" I complained.

"I need to dress you up!" she whined.

"I dress myself up fine everyday," I argued.

"But Rose wants to help this time," she said.

"So? I'm not going to be your life-size barbie for the rest of the school year," I replied stubbornly.

I briefly considered the option of dressing up horrible just to piss Alice off. I smiled at the thought. Yeah. What would I wear just to piss her off…? Haha. I know. A sweat suit.

"BELLA!" Alice screamed, "YOU BETTER NOT GO TO SCHOOL WEARING WHAT YOU'RE PLANNING ON WEARING!!"

I laughed and turned off the water. I dried myself off and put a robe on. I walked into my room to find a fuming Alice and a Rose who was grinning at me smugly. I only had time to say two words before they started circling me.

"Ah, crap," was what I said.

Then Alice flung me a pair of my underwear and a bra. I put them on and then both of them circled me like vultures waiting for a tiny prairie dog to stop twitching so they can eat it. I sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening to help me.

"Rose," Alice snapped.

"Yeah?" Rose answered.

"I'm thinking… sexy rebel," Alice replied.

I rolled my eyes and then my breathing hitched. Sexy rebel? That probably included a short plaid skirt or something like that, wouldn't it? Before I could say anything, they were suddenly in my closet, rummaging through my clothes.

"Guys, guys," I said, holding up my hands.

Alice gave me a look that dared me to stop her. I showed her my hands to signal that I surrendered and that I'd let them dress me. Alice cocked her head to the side as if to ask why I was stopping them. I chuckled a bit at our silent exchange. We tended to do that a lot. Alice raised an eyebrow at me.

"No skirts and nothing too short. I don't want anything riding up while I'm on my motorcycle."

Alice and Rose looked at each other, one eyebrow raised. One side of Alice's mouth quirked up into a devious smile, which made me scared. Rose matched the smile and they began to rummage through my clothes again. Alice pulled something out and threw it on the bed then Rose contributed to that piece of clothing and this continued until they thought I had a sensible outfit on my bed.

I looked at the pieces they'd chosen. One that caught my eye was my white denim mini-shorts. I raised both of my eyebrows at Alice and she just gave me an evil looking smile. Stupid little pixie. She gave me another look that said she knew what I was thinking and I gave her an innocent-looking pout. She rolled her eyes and I continued to look at what they'd chosen for me.

I saw a red and black shirt, one of my favorites and I smiled. It was black but, in red writing, it read, "If your girlfriend has a beef, tell her I'm a vegetarian." And on the back it said, "And I ain't freaking scared of her." Unfortunately, since I'd be in a jacket all day, no one would probably be able to see the back, but I'd make sure to show everyone the front.

Then, I saw my favorite red and black hoodie. It was black but looked like somebody splattered red paint all over it. Alice usually hated that thing. I wondered why she was letting me wear it. In fact, I looked at her quizzically and she shrugged.

"It looked cute with the outfit," was her reply.

I smiled and looked at the other pieces. I saw my red and black striped thigh highs, which came up to just under where my shorts ended. I squealed and Rose and Alice high-fived. Then my eyes skittered across plain black suspenders and my plain black vans.

I had to admit, they did pretty well. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And when I saw the suspenders, I knew she wanted me to wear them off my shoulders so that they hung at the sides of my thighs.

"I like it," I announced, "You girls did good".

Rose and Alice each gave me a look that practically screamed, "Ya think?!" I laughed and pulled my outfit on. Speaking of outfits, I looked at Alice's and Rose's. Alice was wearing a cute gray dress that ended about three inches above her knees with black tights and UGG boots. Rose was wearing a beret and a tight dark blue V-neck with skinny jeans and three-inch stiletto heels.

They looked stunning and I immediately knew that I paled in comparison. I shrugged it off, though. It was always like that. As soon as I was done putting my clothes on, they rushed me to a mirror and we admired the way we looked. I looked way cute, though cute was all I'd ever be when standing next to Rose and Alice. They looked amazing. I smiled, though, because I was used to the feeling.

After a few minutes of admiring our reflections, they ran me to Alice's room and I found myself sitting in front of her make-up and hair mirror. I began to fidget under their intense gazes.

"Stop moving," Rose commanded.

I did as I was told and Alice plugged in a straightener. I started to protest but she held up a hand to stop me. Then, she set aside all the things she was going to put on me. I saw foundation, lip gloss, eye shadow, blush, eyeliner, mascara, and other stuff I couldn't name. I sighed. From experience, I knew this was going to hurt.

Once Alice was done, I turned to her.

"Straightening my hair will do nothing. It'll just get frizzy in my helmet or wind-blown if I just wear my sunglasses," I said.

Alice smiled.

"Wear your sunglasses," she advised, "Don't worry about your hair. I'm pretty sure it'll look hotter once it's a bit windblown.

I began to doubt Alice but then sighed. Betting against Alice is just retarded. After the straightener was hot, Alice began doing my hair. That's when Rose started on my make-up. I did as she commanded. Pursing my lips, opening my eyes, looking up, pouting, and etc. when she told me to. When she was done, my facial muscles were hurting.

But when she was done, and I opened my eyes, my jaw dropped open. Alice used her index finger to close it.

"It's not attractive when ladies do that, you know," she sang and I laughed.

But, seriously, I looked nice. Not that I looked as good as Rose and Alice, I never would and I knew that. But this looked as close as I was ever going to get.

"Wow," I breathed and admired their handiwork.

I had this smoky eye shadow on and thick eyeliner. It seemed to emphasize my chocolate brown eyes. I had a light blush on, because my sisters knew me well enough to know that I'd be blushing the whole day. My lips were glossy and looked fuller than usual. Alice and Rose grinned at me.

"Thanks," I said, "I really do look nice. Maybe I should let you do this more often."

Alice clapped her hands and Rose's eye brightened. I laughed at their expressions but instantly regretted ever saying that last sentence. I shook my head, though, and stood up. I glanced at the time and we were still way early, surprisingly.

"Wanna get there early so we can memorize our schedule and maps?" I asked.

They nodded. We grabbed our backpacks and ran downstairs. We each grabbed a granola bar and walked to the garage. I saw that Rose was going to drive Alice in her car. I threw my bag into her car and gave Rose a smile. She rolled her eyes at me and Alice stuck her tongue out at me. I stuck my tongue back out at them and grabbed my motorcycle jacket.

I put on my sunglasses as I straddled my motorcycle. Then, I turned it on. Again, I smiled at the way it purred to life. Blowing my sisters a quick kiss, I pulled out of the garage and sped my way into Forks.

I loved the drive to the small town. I was pushing 130 on my motorcycle and I loved how everything was passing by in a blur. Rose followed right at my heels and I'd smile back at her every once in a while.

In almost no time at all, we reached Forks and we slowed down. I was doing 30 with Rose trailing behind. We were surprised when we saw Forks High School, mostly because we had passed it twice without noticing it. The only thing that told you it was the high school was the sign.

I was baffled. I mean, this collection of matching houses is a school? I'm sure Rose and Alice were equally confused. Most of the high schools we'd gone to were so much bigger than this. And most of those high schools had chain link fences and security guards. This was definitely going to be a unique experience.

We rode into the parking lot but there weren't that many students here yet. We parked in front of the first building. There was a sign indicating that it was the "Front Office." It started to drizzle lightly. I glared up at the sky, still on my motorcycle, waiting for my sisters to get out of the car.

They got out of the car and jogged, which was quite a feat for Rosalie, to the door. I followed after them. We entered the small building and into a small office. There was a lady with red hair that sat behind a desk. Her plaque read, "Ms. Cope."

"May I help you?" she asked, without looking up. I walked up to her desk with my sisters right behind me. I smiled, they were being shy. Ms. Cope looked up to see me smiling and her breath caught. "Oh, my," I heard her say under her breath. I tried to fight the bigger smile that was threatening my lips.

"Hi," I said, "Um, we're the Swan kids."

"Ah," she answered, "Yes. Can I have the senior come up first?"

I took a step back to let Rose step forward.

"You must be Rosalie Swan," Ms. Cope stated.

Rose would be acting as a senior because she looked too old to be a junior. Alice and I had snickered about that when Mom told us what years we would be acting as. Ms. Cope handed her a paper with her schedule on it and a map and the slips that she had to get signed by her teachers.

"And the juniors?" Ms. Cope asked.

Alice and I stepped forward.

"Alice Swan?" Ms. Cope asked.

Alice held out her hand and Ms. Cope handed her the schedule, map, and slips.

"Isabella Swan?" Ms. Cope asked.

"Bella," I corrected and held out my hand.

She handed me my schedule, a map of the school, and the slips I had to get signed. We walked out into the drizzle and Rose and Alice got into her car. I got on my motorcycle and turned it on. I made a gesture to Rosalie to follow me. I think she nodded her head but I couldn't tell because of those damn tinted windows. I shrugged and looked at the parking lot.

Students were arriving, now. I decided to follow the line but, of course, people stopped to stare at the expensive-looking car and the girl in shorts on the motorcycle. I sighed, deciding to just pass them. I weaved my way through traffic, leaving Rose and Alice behind.

I looked behind me and I'm pretty sure I saw Rose and Alice glaring at me. I threw back my head and laughed. I parked in a far corner of the parking lot and held the spot next to me for Rose and Alice. I took off my biking jacket and laid it over my bike to keep it from getting wet.

Then, I glanced around the parking lot and saw that the cars weren't flashy, except for the silver Volvo that had just entered the parking lot. I couldn't study who was inside it, though because Rose and Alice had finally made it out of the line and were glaring daggers at me.

I smiled at them and got out of the parking space, making a flourish with my hands and a bow. Rose and Alice got out of the car. Alice was pouting.

"You left us," she complained.

"Sorry," I answered, "All those people were staring. It was getting on my nerves."

"They were looking at us, too," Rose said.

"Yeah," I replied, "But they probably couldn't see you with your black windows."

We glared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. All of the students were staring at us, which made me uncomfortable. I'm sure that my sisters sensed this because they put their arms through mine and turned me around to get out bags.

Of course, we had to let go of each other's arms to adjust our backpacks, which made us laugh again. When we adjusted our backpacks, we linked arms again and talked about schedules. Unfortunately, we didn't have any classes together at all. But, we were happy to find out that we had the same lunch.

We walked to the front of the school and talked for a few minutes, ignoring all the stares and jaw-drops guys were giving Rose and Alice. I laughed when it happened to them, because they looked angry and it never happened to me. They glared at me each time I laughed but I just shrugged.

Eventually, though, we had to go our separate ways. We promised meet up with each other at lunch and wished each other good luck. I made sure my sisters were okay with going alone and I chuckled at the thought of all the stares they would be getting.

I shook my head and made my way towards my first class. My first class was English with Mr. Mason in building three. I walked to the building and managed to get there unnoticed but, of course, every freaking head turned my way when I walked into the classroom.

I walked to the teacher and said, "I'm new here," and handed him the slip.

"Isabella Swan," he said.

"Just Bella," I corrected.

"Bella Swan, then," he said, "Welcome to Forks."

I tried not to give him a sarcastic smile and I think I succeeded because he looked momentarily stunned. He cleared his throat and I walked back to my seat, wondering how that happened.

The class passed quickly and so did Government, Trigonometry, and Spanish. I guess it was because I had already learned all of this stuff more than once. I was also really looking forward to lunch. After my last class before lunch, I almost ran to the cafeteria.

I walked in and saw Alice and Rose already at a table, waiting for me. They gestured at me wildly to get my attention. I laughed because Alice was trying to get up on her chair. I ignored them, though, which probably wasn't such a good idea. Because once Alice got on her chair, she did just about the most embarrassing thing she could have done at that moment.

She yelled, "BELLA! OVER HERE!! RIGHT HERE! BELLAAA!"

Everybody in the cafeteria turned to look at me, and my jaw clenched with my annoyance while my cheeks flamed. Instead of waiting to get my food, I handed my tray to a student behind me and walked to the table my sisters were sitting at. As I walked, everybody watched. I couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"Stupid, annoying, little pixie," I hissed as I sat down at the table.

Alice, then, jumped down from her chair and tackled me with a hug.

"Jesus Christ, Alice!" I shouted.

She stuck her tongue out at me and I stuck mine back out at her. Rose rolled her eyes at us. I pushed her playfully and so did Alice. Then, we all looked at each other and burst into laughter. The whole cafeteria was staring at us but we ignored them.

"Okay, okay," I asked, calming down, "So how were your classes? Any guys try to catch your eye?"

Rose and Alice scoffed at the same time.

"Are you kidding me? All of them did," Rose said, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah. Me too," Alice said, "And you'd think that they'd stop drooling after a few minutes, but nope. They never stopped."

I laughed at their misfortunes and they gave me a questioning look, as if to ask me if I hadn't had the same reactions. I laughed again and shook my head.

"Really?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. None of them. At least, I don't think so. I don't remember any of them doing that," I replied.

I began to think about it. Rose laughed.

"Man, I feel sorry for the boy who crushes on you. You wouldn't even realize it."

I laughed and so did Alice. It was true. I probably wouldn't notice.

"It's not like I'm looking, either way," I said and the playful mood at the table suddenly died down.

Our voices were hushed now, so that no one could hear.

"Bella," Alice said, suddenly serious, "You said you were going to try. Remember? All of us were going to try to move on."

"I know, I know," I replied, "But it's only our first day, Mom can't expect me to get over it that quickly."

"No one expects you to get over it that quickly," Rose said, "But that doesn't mean you get out of trying on the first day of school."

I sighed and looked around, trying not to make faces at the guys who were completely gawking at our table. Without thinking about it, I looked at Rose's plate and took some of her fries. They tasted sort of stale. Blech. I was still looking around the cafeteria, though, and that's when I finally noticed them.

My breathing hitched in my throat and I cursed. How could I have been so blind? I swallowed and quickly turned back to the table. My sisters were instantly curious.

"Did you see someone you like?" Alice asked, curiously.

I looked at her and then her eyes glazed over. She gave a small gasp. When she came to, she looked at me and I saw that she was surprised, too. I looked at Rose and she was looking at us quizzically.

"Vampires," I whispered very lowly.

I looked back at the table of the boys. They were only a few tables away from us. I recognized them from the grocery store. I can't believe I'd missed what they were back then. The only difference was that the honey-blonde's eyes were golden now.

"Vampires," I hissed again, a little louder but not loud enough for anybody to hear.

Except for maybe one of the vampires… The boyish looking one raised his head in alarm and my sisters and I began to talk about our teachers.

"Did you have Mr. Mason for English, Alice?" I asked.

She shook her head and we launched into a conversation about teachers. But the whole time, I felt a pair of eyes boring holes in the back of my head. Also, every once in a while, I felt a prodding at the edges of my shield… One of them had a mental power.

I pushed my shield around my sisters, but I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it around them for the rest of the day. I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and thought about what I was supposed to do.

I looked up to see the boyish one looking straight at me. So, it was probably him that had the mental power. I looked at the other boys. The big one was staring at Rosalie and the honey-blond was looking at Alice. I took a deep breath and leaned over to a table beside us. Three girls sat there so, I guessed, they'd know about the boys.

"Who are _they?_" I asked a girl from my Trigonometry class. She looked at the boys and smiled.

"Those are the Cullens," she replied with a giggle, "The big one is Emmet Cullen, the honey-blond one is Jasper and the youngest is Edward."

"They're related? They don't look anything alike," I said and was sure that they could hear us though they pretended not to.

"They're all adopted or something like that," the girl said, "But, hey. Does it matter? You and your sisters look nothing alike."

I froze for a fraction of a second. I forgot that we looked nothing alike, though we really were sisters, and Alice and I were supposed to be the same age. Before we all started saying something different at the same time, I spoke up.

"We're cousins," I said, finality coloring my tone.

Rose, Alice, and I turned back to our table. I looked at them and we glanced at the clock at the same time. We had to get to class.

"Be careful with your mind, just in case," I whispered to them.

They gave me imperceptible nods and they gave me their trays. I always did this for them when we were at a restaurant or somewhere with trays. I'd kinda taken it on as a big sisterly duty.

"Bye," I said and gave them a look that said, "Be cautious."

They smiled at me and waved back. I let my shield back to me and immediately felt tired. Extending my shield left me feeling a little tired and weak. But since I hadn't gotten a good night's rest last night, I was feeling weaker than usual.

I looked around for a trashcan and saw that the closest one was right next to the vampire boys' table. I took a deep breath and mentally beat myself for being so very stupid. I mean, I was supposed to be a vampire hunter? Wasn't I supposed to be on high alert all the time?

I casually glanced over the Cullens as I threw my stuff away and somebody, probably that Edward guy, tried to do something with his mental power. Only this time, it was more forceful. In fact, it was so forceful that I dropped one of the trays and leaned on the trashcan for support. I put a hand to my forehead to shake it off.

One of the Cullens, the large one, picked up the tray for me. Lucky for me, nothing was on it when I dropped it. I tried to smile at… what was his name? Emmet? Well, I tried to smile but my facial muscles failed me. I'm pretty sure I ended up grimacing at him. I mumbled an apology and then got out of the cafeteria as fast as I could, practically running.


	6. Don't Let Me Go

**EPOV**

Today was as boring and mundane as ever. Not to mention annoying. Every students' thoughts were consumed of the three new girls. Most of the thoughts were either really perverted or really mean. Once again, the pettiness of teenagers never failed to amaze me.

There were three new girls, but so far, I'd only seen two of them. Nobody bothered to pay attention to the last new girl. But it wasn't like I cared, I'd just unconsciously mentally noted it.

I was pretending to eat with my brothers, Emmet and Jasper, while trying to tune out everyone's annoying thoughts.

Then, we heard a girl yell, "BELLA! OVER HERE!! RIGHT HERE! BELLAAA!"

Everyone turned their heads toward a girl with chestnut hair and chocolate brown eyes, wearing a red and black outfit with white shorts, blushing in the cafeteria line. _That's the other new girl, then, _I thought, _She's awfully plain compared to her sisters._

_She's not that bad,_ I heard Emmet think, _But nothing compared to her sisters._

Jasper's thoughts were along the same lines. I rolled my eyes at them. I turned back to the table. I was still really bored.

Then, everyone in the cafeteria heard someone yell, "Jesus Christ, Alice!"

I looked at the table where the new girls were sitting. It was only about three tables away from mine. I saw that the short, black-haired girl, Alice, had tackled the chestnut-haired one, Bella, I think, with a hug. Then, all three girls including Rosalie, started laughing loudly. Everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at them again.

_Eddie-boy_, Emmet thought, _What are the new girls thinking? Anything about us?_

I checked and heard Alice thinking, _Bella is so distracted all the time_.

Then I heard Rose think, _Bella is a heartbreaker, after all_.

I vaguely wondered why they were thinking about the plain girl. She didn't seem that interesting. I looked for her thoughts and found… nothing. I couldn't hear her. I looked at her and saw her talking and smiling. Yet, I couldn't hear her thoughts. Jasper was looking at me.

_You okay, bro?_ Jasper asked in his thoughts.

I gave him a small nod and he shrugged his shoulders. I tried to hear the girl, Bella's, thoughts but couldn't. I listened in on the conversation they were having, hoping that I'd be able to locate her mental voice once I heard her physical one.

"…it's only our first day," I heard Bella say, "Mom can't expect me to get over it that quickly."

I briefly wondered what they were talking about. Get over what? I was surprised at myself. Why did I care?

Then I heard the blonde one, Rosalie, say, "No one expects you to get over it that quickly, but that doesn't mean you get out of trying on your first day of school."

Once again, I wondered what they were talking about and once again I questioned why I wanted to know. I shook my head and turned back to my brothers. I looked at Emmet and saw that he was checking out the blonde new girl. I looked at Jasper and he was staring at Alice. I rolled my eyes at them.

I heard Jasper think, _Her emotions… so optimistic._

I chuckled.

I heard Emmet think, _She's hot._

I rolled my eyes at him. Then, I heard something that snapped me to attention, a word that people were only supposed to mention when talking about a scary movie or a book. My head whipped up and I looked at the source of the word. _Bella_. Why had she said the word "vampires"?

But then, the three girls started talking about teachers. I looked at Jasper and whispered so lowly that only Emmet could hear us.

"What are the three girls feeling?" I asked.

"Er… They're all… curious and sort of scared. Though, the brunette is sort of pissed," he answered.

"This might not be good," I muttered.

I continued to listen to their conversation while trying to hear Bella's thoughts. I heard her ask a girl about my brothers and me and I fought the smile that threatened my lips. I listened to the girl's explanation. I think they then turned to their own table. I couldn't make out what she said.

But then they got up, and Bella got up to take her older cousins' trays. I looked back to my table to avoid her eyes. She took a deep breath and walked past us to the trashcan.

_Whoa,_ Jasper thought,_ Quite the emotion she's got there._

I gave him a questioning look.

_She's filled with… self-loathing,_ Jasper explained.

That struck me as strange. I looked up at her and she looked tired, by the way she held her shoulders. I tried to get into her head again, but I tried harder, way harder this time. She dropped one of the trays and leaned on the trashcan. She put a hand to her forehead.

_What the hell?_ Emmet thought.

I was shocked. Had she just… reacted to my probing? No, impossible… wasn't it? Jasper looked at me with concern, probably sensing my confusion. I saw Emmet pick up the tray Bella dropped. He was holding it out to her and she looked like she wanted to smile but couldn't. She grimaced at Emmet and then suddenly turned around and practically ran out of the cafeteria.

Emmet shrugged and put the tray on top of the trashcan. Jasper and I were looking at each other.

"What the hell was that?" I hissed lowly.

Emmet looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"I was being… nice?" he said, turning it into a soft question.

I shook my head.

"Did you hear what that Bella girl said?" I asked.

My brothers shook their heads.

"I think I heard her mention vampires and then I tried listening to her thoughts but I found nothing. I couldn't hear her. Then, when she was at the trashcan, I tried my hardest to read her mind and you two saw what happened," I said.

Jasper and Emmet shared a look.

"Well, Edward, what do you think?" Jasper asked.

"I don't know. Somehow, something about them doesn't feel… right," I answered.

And it was true. The way that girl Bella ran out of the cafeteria… she seemed scared. I tried to shrug it off, though, but the subject kept resurfacing to the front of my mind. What if she knew about us? I told myself it was nothing and was glad that I didn't have any classes with either of the girls, especially Bella.

I shook my head, while I stood up to throw away my untouched lunch. I walked to Biology alone, other students parting like the red sea when they saw me. I walked into class and most of the girls looked at me and sighed. I ignored them and walked to my empty table.

I was playing with my pencil, staring at the irregular dotted patters on the desk, when _she_ walked in. Suddenly, all the snickering and conversation in the room was cut short and then started up just as fast as it stopped.

I tried to hear the person's, the one who just walked in, thoughts, but heard nothing. My head snapped up and I stared into the intense gaze of Bella Swan. But, as soon as she met my eyes, she looked down at the floor.

I watched her walk up to the teacher, and I saw her jaw drop for a second before she closed it when the teacher pointed to the seat next to me. Even though I couldn't be sure, I'm pretty sure we were both thinking the same thing.

_Please, no,_ I thought.

I turned my attention to the table in front of me but watched her from the corner of my eye. I saw her trip over somebody's books as she made her way to the desk. She sat down next to me and then her _smell hit me_.

She was the best human I'd smelled in forever. My muscles went rigid and I had to fight myself to keep from attacking her right then and there. Her smell… it was so intoxicating. I was gripping the underside of the table to keep myself in my seat.

I stared at her face in disbelief. How could this girl's scent be so… potent? I was leaving dents in the table. I looked back at Bella's face and I swear I saw her lips curve up slightly at the corners. Then she flipped her hair so that I couldn't see her face but her scent hit me again, forcefully.

My head reeled from it and venom flowed in my mouth. Now, I was gripping the table so hard that part of it broke off into splinters in my hand. I looked back at the girl and saw her shoulders shaking. Did she notice and was she now afraid of me? She had every right to be.

But when I she fidgeted, I saw a glimpse of a wry smile on her face. Was she actually _enjoying and silently laughing_ the pain I was in? That did it. I wanted to kill her.

_Wait, wait, Edward_, I thought to myself, _Let's not be hasty. You can't attack her in front of all these innocent students. Wait. She's innocent too. She's not doing anything to you. _Ugh! I couldn't believe I was arguing with myself.

I breathed in to let out a heavy groan but then her scent filled my nose and my throat burned like crazy. I looked at her again and her shoulders were shaking harder. She thought it was funny, huh? I would show her…

Wait. No. I can't. I'd disappoint Carlisle. God, why was I arguing with myself? And I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed her scent in the cafeteria. Why did I have to notice it in this small classroom?

I looked back at her face and I saw her looking at me with a satisfied grin on her face. I looked at her incredulously and she looked back down at her notebook, still grinning. Could she tell I was in pain? If so, why was she smiling? Maybe I really should…

_God, Edward, _I thought to myself, _Stop thinking like that!_ I turned to Bella and she turned me. She raised an eyebrow at me and I couldn't help the low growl that escaped my throat. Only Bella heard and she gave me a smirk. She flipped her hair again and another low growl sounded from deep in my chest.

"Stupid bloodsucker," I heard her say under her breath.

So, she knew?

"How did you know?" I asked.

"It was obvious. After all, I did pledge my life to eliminate the world of your kind," she hissed in a whisper.

That stopped me from my reply. She… was… a… _hunter?_ Wouldn't that mean the rest of her family was made up of hunters too? What were they doing in Forks? Were they specifically hunting my family?

"Who's your next job?" I asked in a harsh tone.

"Relax, leech," she said, "My sisters and I didn't even know about you until today. Though, I do have to check with my mom."

She said her last sentence so lowly that I barely heard her.

"I'd like to know if my family and I should be expecting a fight?" I turned it into a sentence.

"Funny, that's what I'd like to know too. What a small world," she said sarcastically.

She was pissed. I could tell that much. I sucked breath in to my mouth to say something but accidentally breathed in her scent. I turned away to compose myself and when I looked back at her, she was looking at me coldly.

"About to lose your control?" she asked in a cold tone.

I didn't answer.

"I thought so," she replied, "No vampire can."

And just like that, my control snapped.

"Don't talk about vampires like you know them," I hissed.

"Oh, but I do, Cullen. I do," she replied.

I saw a flash of hurt in her eyes and it made me rethink what I was going to say. But when she noticed my hesitation, her eyes turned cold and hard.

"Surprised?" she asked.

"Only a little," I answered.

She shook her head and then turned to the front of the classroom. She tilted her head in the other direction and tossed her hair back to give me a full view of her pale neck. I leaned away to take a shaky breath but her scent was all that filled my nose. I looked back at her and she met my hate-filled gaze.

"Why do you keep looking at me like you're not afraid that I might attack your neck at any given time?" I asked skeptically.

"Because I'm not," she replied, no emotion filled her voice and I knew that she was telling the truth. She was done being afraid of vampires a long time ago.

"Just breathe it in, Cullen, breathe it in," she said.

It sounded like a dare, so I did it. I breathed deep three times and I turned to her. God, I was so ready to attack her. I bit my lip. She was still showing me her neck but she looked as if her attention was turned towards the front of her classroom.

I could kill her and tell my family it was to save us. But no, I'd have to lure her away first. But then I'd have to kill the rest of her family. I took a deep breath of her scent. It would be worth it, I knew.

I'd be saving my family and would get instant gratification in the process. Besides, my family would understand right? But no. Carlisle would be disappointed. I can't do that to him. But she smells so good. Ugh! Again, with the arguing with myself.

I shook my head but then everyone in the classroom jumped when they heard a girl screech from somewhere outside the classroom.

"Bella!" a pixie-like girl yelled and burst into the classroom.

The teacher was ready to scold her but Alice made up a smooth lie.

"Sorry," she said to him, "It's just that one of our relatives is sick and I need to talk to Bella about it. It's an emergency."

He nodded but I knew there was a different story. When Alice burst into the classroom, her first thought was, _Thank God Bella is safe. I need to warn her._ Warn her against what?

I couldn't wonder for long because Alice thought something that snapped me to attention again.

_Mind reader,_ she thought and my head snapped up to look into her eyes,_ You're seriously considering of killing a vampire hunter when there are three others in town? _She was walking to my table.

I'm sure I looked shocked. She just shook her head and grabbed Bella's hand. She dragged Bella outside but before they went into the hallway, Alice looked back at me.

_You hurt her and you're dead, bloodsucker,_ she thought.

Once Bella was out of the classroom, it was easier for me to breathe but her scent still lingered and the beast in me wanted to go against everything Carlisle ever taught me and slaughter her.

I shook my head to clear it. I didn't know what to do. I didn't even really understand what was going on.

Honestly, what the hell was going on?


	7. The Suffering

I screwed up. Big time. No, I screwed up bigger than that. I was such a retard. How could I have done that? Why couldn't I have just kept my cool for once? God dammit. And it was just because that stupid vampire Edward pissed me off.

He was looking at me like I was something to eat, well, to him I was but, god, could he have been any more obvious about it? Ugh! I blew our secret, though! Now he and his family would be on their guard and we won't be able to eliminate them properly.

Alice and I were in the hall. She stayed quiet while I mentally berated myself. Eventually, I got so frustrated that I wanted to punch something. Alice pointed to the wall, and I smiled my thanks. I punched it and there was a resounding smack in the hall.

That would be hard to explain to the teacher when I got back inside the classroom. Alice put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Bella," she said, "It'll be alright."

I took a deep breath.

"You know I told, don't you?" I asked.

"Yeah," she answered.

"I told him a few minutes ago, though. Why did you come _now_?" I asked.

"I already knew that either you, Rose, or I was going to end up telling one of them. So, I wasn't worried about that. But I was paying attention to your future after lunch and it was all messed up. I kept seeing you getting attacked by one of the vampires, the one you were sitting next to. Apparently, you smell quite good to him. He was debating whether he should kill you or not and then I saw him luring you into the forest and away from town… it got out of hand so I ran here to warn you and then I had another vision just outside the classroom. He's a mind reader."

"Damn," was all I said.

"Yeah," she replied.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"I don't know," she replied.

We leaned against the wall and I thought about what we should do. I was sure as hell going to ask Mom if she knew about any of this. It would be just like her to strand us in a town with vampires for the sake of…

"Oh," Alice interrupted my mental tirade, "Esme."

I looked at her and saw that she was having a vision. I took a deep breath. So, Esme probably had something to do with this. Jeez, nice one Mom.

"Esme," Alice complained, "She knew. She knew there were vampires here and her decision hasn't changed. We're staying here and we're not supposed to attack the vampires."

"Why not?" I practically yelled.

I didn't bother with being quiet. I honestly didn't give a crap at the moment.

"It's part of her plan to get us to trust vampires again," Alice explained.

"Why?" I yelled again. I lowered my voice and then asked, "Why would she want us to trust vampires again?"

"She's going to tell us that it's because she wants to quit being a hunter and she wants us to follow her decision," Alice explained.

I was about to ask another question when Alice slipped into another vision. She gave another gasp.

"Whoa," she breathed.

"What?" I asked slowly, dreading the answer.

"And she's going to fall in love with the father figure of the vampire coven," she replied.

I almost choked on my own spit.

"What?" I almost yelled again.

"And that's not it," Alice said, wonder filling her voice, "Rose is going to fall in love with Emmet, I'm going to fall in love with Jasper and Bella, you're going to fall in love with Edward."

Holy shit. No, no, no, no, no. I wouldn't be falling in love with _anybody_ and much less a _vampire_. Yeah right. I looked at Alice, intending to ask her if she was kidding. Our family? Falling in love with a coven of vampires? But her expression stopped me. She was dead serious.

"Oh, Bella," Alice said, "All of us are going to be so much in love. It's so clear."

I stopped breathing for a second. No. There was no way I was going to fall in love again. I started to shake my head.

"Bella," Alice said, "Calm down."

I was still shaking my head. She put a hand on my shoulder but I shook it off. She knew I hated it when anybody mentioned my love life. Everyone in the vampire hunting business knew I never dated anymore, much less fall in love anymore. I was Bella. I was meant to be alone.

"Bella," Alice said, "Don't think about running. It's your first day of school. Mom is going to be really pissed if you skip."

I was still shaking my head, but now my whole body was shaking. The last time Alice said I was going to fall in love was right before I met Ian.

_Ian_, my mind whispered_, He wouldn't want you to fall in love again_.

I couldn't breathe. My chest felt tight.

"Bella!" Alice yelled, "Bella! Are you okay?"

I vaguely registered that I was on the ground. How'd that happen?

"Bella!" Alice yelled, louder.

I heard a door open and my biology teacher ask, "Ladies, why are you so loud?"

Then I heard a gasp and heavy footsteps coming my way.

"Bella?" I heard my teacher ask, "Can you hear me, Bella?"

I was locked in a corner of my head, the corner where I always pushed and hid my pain. This was what happened every time I even thought about moving on after Ian. I hugged my chest, trying to keep it together, fighting the hole that tried to rip its way through my chest.

"Bella!" my teacher shouted.

I vaguely registered that my whole biology class, including Edward, was now in the hallway, looking down at me.

"Bella!" my teacher and Alice both shouted.

I took a deep breath and winced. The pain was still there but the worst part was over, I hoped. I could breathe and probably walk upright now. I shook my head to clear it.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice sounded so weak, "I… I don't know what happened."

Alice helped me up and I put a hand to the wall to keep me upright. The teacher walked up to me and put a hand to my forehead.

"Are you okay?" he asked, "You're feeling kind of warm."

"Yeah, no," I said, "I'm fine. Sorry."

"Do you need to go to the nurse's office? Do you need to go home?" he asked.

I looked at Alice and she shook her head. I took a deep breath and put a hand to my throbbing head.

"No," I answered, "I'm fine. I'll just finish up talk to Alice really quick. Sorry to disturb your lesson."

I gave him a weak smile and he looked flustered. He muttered something I didn't catch and then ushered everyone back into his classroom.

I turned to Alice. She was looking at me with such a concerned expression that I had to chuckle softly. I ruffled her hair.

"It's still that bad?" she asked, referring to the pain I'd been in, but she knew how much worse it had been for the few months after it actually happened.

"It's not as bad but yeah, it's still there," I replied, not meeting her eyes.

"I think we've all failed to see how close you actually got to all of those boys, especially Ian," she whispered.

I nodded and tears stung my eyes. Whoa. It had been a while since that had happened. Alice must have seen my eyes water and then my expression because she giggled.

"It's good to cry every once in a while, big sis," she said.

I just nodded and smiled at her.

"Now, you need to go talk to Rose and get back to class," I said.

She nodded and I thanked her before she pranced off to tell Rose. I could only imagine how Rose would react. I almost laughed but, now that I was alone, the pain of the conversation caught up with me.

_Ian_, my mind whispered in agony, again.

I shook my head to try and clear it but it didn't work. And the pain was slowly creeping back to my chest. I held onto my sides again, trying to hold my chest together. Breathing became hard again.

_Stop this, Bella,_ I told myself, _You need to stop this. You're stronger than this._

But a traitorous voice in my head once again whispered in agony, _Ian._

I walked back into biology looking at the floor. I could feel everyone's gaze on me but I barely noticed it. I was still trying to hold myself together. I walked back to my seat and didn't react to the way the vampire beside me went rigid and was leaning away from me to breathe.

I ignored him for the most part, trying to keep myself together and the teacher didn't call on me, probably because he was still clinging to the idea that I was sick, so I was okay to sulk. And maybe I _was_ sick. I mean, sick in the head. It had been so long ago that I lost Ian but I still felt the hole that was ripped in my chest when it happened.

"Bad break up?" the vampire asked and the pain in my chest flared.

I sucked in a breath of air and hugged my chest tighter. Those were the words Ian had asked me when he found me crying, leaning against a tree near the school we had gone to at the time. _Ian,_ my mind wailed.

I took another deep breath and glared at the vampire. How did he know that this had something to do with a guy? Oh, right. Alice said he was a mind reader. He probably read my or Alice's mind. He was grinning crookedly at me and it nearly took my breath away, but I was in pain and I was so pissed off I could barely think straight, so it didn't happen.

"You know what, vampire?" I hissed.

"What?" he asked.

"You're lucky my mom doesn't want us hunting you and your family," I answered in such a cold voice that I barely recognized it as my own.

Just then, the bell rang and he was up, out of his chair, and out of the classroom, in a flash. I took a deep breath and got ready to go to Gym.

Once I was at Gym, the coach said I couldn't participate because I didn't have my uniform. He said I could sit down on one of the bleachers while I waited for the period to be over.

So, for the whole Gym period, I sat on a bleacher hugging my knees to my chest, trying to get my mind off Ian. I was actually surprised when Gym was over. I numbly walked out of the parking lot.

I looked around the lot for my sisters and found them talking to the other vampires, Emmet and Jasper. My sisters looked so happy and my heart lurched. I saw that they were walking towards the silver Volvo, where Edward was leaning against it. He was staring incredulously at his brothers, just as I was at my sisters.

They reached the Volvo and I saw Emmet and Rose laughing and Alice and Jasper doing the same. My heart squeezed. I took a deep breath and got on my motorcycle. I noticed that I'd have to pass the Volvo to get out of the parking lot unless I wanted to circle the whole lot.

I decided to just pass the Volvo and show that I didn't care. I turned on my motorcycle and slowly pulled out of my parking space. As I passed the Volvo, Alice screamed my name. I sighed and backed up to talk to her.

"What?" I asked tiredly.

"Why don't you hang out with us?" Rose asked hopefully.

I shook my head.

"I think I'm just going to drive around," I answered.

"Where to?" Alice asked and her eyes narrowed.

"Around town, I guess. Why? You think I'm going to drive off a cliff?"

Alice just raised her eyebrows at me.

"Really, Alice, really?" I nearly shouted.

I raked a hand through my hair.

"Never mind. I'll just go home," I said.

"Don't start a fight with Mom just because you're aggravated. And don't ruin any of the trees, or the house, or the garage," Alice said.

I took a deep breath and nodded. She knew me too well. How was I going to release all my tension and frustration? I briefly considered going emo for a day…

"Bella!" Alice scolded, catching my attention quickly.

"It was just a fleeting thought," I said defensively. I knew she'd had a brief vision of me cutting myself.

Rose looked at me worriedly.

"Maybe we should drive home with you," Rose suggested.

I looked at my sisters. They didn't want to leave with me. They wanted to talk more with the vampires. I shook my head at them.

"Just have fun. I'll be okay. Just talk, do what you want to, it's fine," I babbled and then gunned my motorcycle.

I sped my way back home, fighting tears the whole way.


	8. Sunshine

EPOV

"Your sister really hates vampires, doesn't she?" I asked Alice once Bella sped off on her motorcycle.

"You don't understand," she said softly.

I could tell from her thoughts that she wasn't going to say anymore on the subject and I didn't care enough to really look into her thoughts. Instead, I changed the subject.

"So, brothers," I asked, "Do you know your friends are vampire hunters?"

To my surprise and annoyance, they nodded.

"They told us that they weren't allowed to kill any of us though," Emmet said.

I noticed Jasper was silent.

"Jasper? You okay?" I asked.

"Alice, Rose," he responded, "I don't know what's wrong with Bella but… she's feeling some strong emotions there."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked him, looking confused.

"I can sense other people's moods and influence them," he answered matter-of-factly.

Alice's and Rose's eyes widened in surprise but Jasper didn't pay attention to that. He was lost in his own thoughts.

"What do you mean by 'strong emotions'?" I asked, helping the conversation move along.

I couldn't care less, but I knew that if I didn't ask then Rose and Alice would have just gawked at him.

"She's filled with… a deep grieving… a huge pain… and self-loathing. And, she was really tired," Jasper replied.

I looked into his thoughts and I was shocked. He was remembering how Bella felt on the motorcycle. He was right; those were some very strong emotions.

"I got the sense that it wasn't anything new," Jasper continued, "There was an underlying feeling of acceptance and… defeat. She's accepted all those feelings and isn't fighting against them. I don't think it's healthy."

I looked at Alice and Rose. Rose was pale and Alice had a tear rolling down her cheek.

"That bitch," Rose said with fervor, startling us all, "She's been living with that ever since Ian."

She shook her head and I scoffed.

"So it _was_ a bad break up?" I asked, sounding a little annoyed. So, Bella was only being petty.

I felt the weight of two staggering glares.

"What?" I asked.

"How did you know it had something to do with a guy?" Alice asked.

"Well," I answered, "I kinda heard you thinking about some Ian guy when Bella collapsed in the hall, so I figured and then-"

Rosalie cut me off, "She collapsed in the hall?"

"Relax, she didn't collapse," Alice answered, "It was a brief break down. You know how she got those few months after Ian… it happened but only for a few minutes."

Rose cursed and then Alice motioned for me to go on.

"Well," I continued, "I figured it was the name of an old boyfriend so after Bella got inside the classroom, I looked at her and she looked like she was trying to hold her chest together by hugging it. I asked her, 'Bad break up?' and then she got really pissed off."

"Idiot," Alice murmured.

"What?" I asked defensively.

I could tell that Emmet and Jasper were wrapped up in this conversation, too. Rose heaved a sigh and closed her eyes. I heard her whisper Bella's name.

"I think we have to tell you the whole story, seeing as if I just tell you about Ian, it won't make any sense," Alice replied.

Rose leaned against my Volvo and Alice did too.

"When our Dad was alive, he ran this housing business, you could call it. He'd house vampires like you guys, the golden-eyed ones, saying they were the nice ones and that they wouldn't hurt us. Bella was older than us then," I was going to interrupt with a question because her last sentence made no sense, but Alice held up her hand and so I shut my mouth, "She was two while Rose was only a few months old and I was only a year old.

"Bella is the only one of us besides our Mom, Esme, who remembers our father," Alice and Rose smiled sadly at each other and Jasper put a reassuring hand on Alice's shoulder and Emmet rubbed Rose's arm. Alice continued, "Anyways, one day, I don't remember that day but Bella described it to us once, Dad went down in the basement, bringing Bella with him, to where some of the vampires were drinking their packets of animal blood.

"Our dad was known for doing that every once in a while, just to check in with the vampires. He wasn't expecting any trouble, but Bella remembers being apprehensive. She told us that she felt like something bad would happen if they went down into the basement that day. She told our dad that but he just smiled and told her, 'Golden-eyed vampires are good. They'd never hurt anybody.'

"Bella had smiled and said, 'Okay, Daddy.' Then he brought her down to the basement. Once they were down there, Dad asked, 'How are all my guests?' A lot of the vampires said, 'Very good. Thanks, Charlie.' Bella noticed a vampire in a dark corner of the basement. She said he looked scary. She remembered telling Dad and then that vampire looked up. He was thirsty, Bella and Dad could tell that much.

"Bella screamed and then Dad let go of her hand and pushed her towards the stairs. Bella tried to scramble up the stairs but she was still small. She made it to the top stairs, in a few minutes, but she couldn't open the door. She turned to Dad to ask for help but the moment she looked at him, she saw the vampire go for his throat.

"She remembers screaming and screaming as the other vampires in the basement started losing control," Tears flowed down Alice's cheeks, "She remembers screaming our dad's name. But then, the first vampire that attacked our Dad looked at her. Bella told us that his eyes were forever burned into her memory.

"He flew to the top step, where Bella was. She remembers crying and screaming for our Mom. The vampire bit Bella but was interrupted because our Mom had heard the screaming and she'd opened the basement door. Bella 'played dead,' as she put it, but she heard our mom's screams as the vampires attacked her too. Then she heard Rose crying and then me screaming. All that time, she was waiting for the vampires to leave and hunt elsewhere so Bella could try to save her family.

"Then it became quiet, and after a few minutes, she pushed herself up and ran down the stairs. She checked on our dad but… they'd drained him dry. She didn't have time to react because she had to check the rest of us. She climbed up the steps and then checked our Mom. Her heart was still beating so Bella did the first thing that came to mind.

"She remembered Mom telling her about a vampire's bite and how they had venom. So, Bella tried to suck the venom out. She said the blood tasted horrible but she kept going because she didn't want to lose her Mom, too. She didn't know when to stop but after a few minutes, she did. She still had to check on her younger siblings.

"She stumbled up the stairs to Rose's and my rooms. She said when she was going up the stairs, her legs started to burn. But once she was in my room, she immediately did the same thing she did to our mom. Then, she did the same to Rose, though she had to be more careful with Rose because she was just a baby. Bells knew she couldn't suck too much blood out, but she tried anyway.

"After Rosalie, Bella stumbled down the steps. The doorbell rang, and though it was against Bella's better judgment and though the venom was spreading, she said her arms started to burn, she opened the door to another golden-eyed vampire.

"He looked down at her curiously. Bella said in her two year old accent, 'If you want to drink from a human, just drink from me but then leave. Stay away from my family, please.' Bella remembers collapsing in front of the vampire, then. She remembers that it was dark but then felt the vampire sucking at the wound on her neck.

"The next thing she remembered was waking up to sunshine and at first she thought she was dead, but by the way her body was feeling, she thought otherwise. She wondered if she was a vampire but she wasn't shining in the sunlight so, no. So, she figured that she was alive and human. She went through the house, waking up her family members and we woke up. It was really a miracle.

"That was about 150 years ago," Alice stated. My brothers' jaws dropped but I was careful to hide my surprise, and my disgust for what Bella had to do. "We found out that we aged incredibly slowly, though Bella ages slower than the rest of us because she had the venom in her system longer."

"So, that's why she hates vampires?" I asked.

"The initial reason was because they killed our father," Alice said. Her tears had stopped flowing. She looked around the parking lot and the rest of us followed. It was deserted.

"We have to go," Rose said.

"Wait!" Emmet said, "I'd like to hear the rest of the story."

"How about we go to our house? Rose can drive her car since she knows the story already, and I'll be in the car with you guys. I'll tell you the story on the way. Just follow Rosalie," Alice said.

Rose walked to her car and started it. We did the same to our car. I followed Rose out of the parking lot and we began driving to their house.

"Continue, Alice," Jasper said, "Please."

She smiled at him.

"Well, yeah. We age slowly but Bella ages slower than the rest of us. For the longest time, she never let anyone in. She only rarely let Rose and me inside the little shell she kept herself inside. Eventually, the shell disappeared and she was herself.

"Then she met a boy named Dan. He was sweet. She fell in love. Their relationship lasted a few months, but then vampires killed him. And then Bella's shell was back and it was harder to crack. A few years later, the shell disappeared again and she found another guy. His name was Sean. Again, vampires killed him. Their relationship lasted shorter than half a year but she felt strongly about him. The shell returned after he died and then she accidentally fell in love with a guy name John about a decade later.

"This relationship lasted about nine months. But vampires killed him again. Of course, Bella's shell came back and it was impossible to crack, because she was blaming it on herself. Then, along came Ian. He was unique. Instead of Bella's shell disappearing that time, he broke the shell. He fell in love with her and she fell in love with him. This relationship was somehow different.

"Everybody noticed the change in her. She was happy, less mad all the time and she was less willing to do vampire hunter work. Their relationship lasted about a year- Oh, wait. We're here."

I looked ahead of us and saw a house. The Swan house. I hadn't noticed we were there. I got out of the car and Alice walked us into the living room. We all sat down but Alice sat in the middle of a carpet on the floor.

"This was the house," Alice gestured, "Where our dad died and this was where that fateful night happened."

My brothers and I looked around the house. It looked nothing like how I'd imagined the living room of that horrible night to be. I shook my head, though. Of course they cleaned up. I smelled Bella's lingering scent but it wasn't as bad this time.

"Anyway, back to Ian," Alice said, "Their relationship lasted around a year and a half. You could see that Bella's heart had started to heal. Then, one night they went out and a coven of vampires attacked them. Bella fought her hardest to save Ian. She couldn't lose him, she just couldn't.

"She told him to run and he started to but then one of the vampires pinned her by kicking her in the chest and she screamed out. Ian turned around and ran back to try to save her. Bella noticed the last vampire was missing and told Ian to turn back, but it was too late.

"Bella watched the vampire attack Ian's neck. She saw him die and she always remembered his last words. They were, 'I love you.' She found her strength again and defeated the two remaining vampires. She burned the pieces but she had to make sure that Ian didn't end up a vampire. She… had to burn his body too.

"She hated it but she knew she had to do it, for his sake. Her heart shattered for the fifth time in her life and she hasn't been the same since. Ian died a little over thirty years ago," Alice finished, "So, as you can imagine, she's not that fond of vampires, especially golden-eyed ones."

"Why golden-eyed ones? I thought the golden-eyed vampires only killed your dad, anyway. It was just one out of those five people, wasn't it?"

"Actually," a new voice said, "It was three out of five people."

Everybody turned to see a Bella in a tank top and shorts leaning against the wall of the living room.

"Bella," Alice tried to explain, "I… I…"

She didn't react. She turned to me and I saw all her pent up fury, frustration and pain right there in her chocolate eyes. She looked up at the ceiling, then.

"Dad was the first," Bella said, answering my question while looking at the ceiling, "The first guy I fell in love with after Dad, Dan, was the second."

She paused and I had a feeling I knew who the last person was, the last person besides her family who had seen the real Bella. She turned to me and told me what I already knew.

"And the last was Ian. So it wasn't just one out of five. It was three out of five," she said.

Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks but I don't think she noticed. But, my god, she was strong. All her pain had been laid out on a table for all to see and she wasn't bawling. I was surprised.

I looked at Jasper and he looked like he was in pain, probably because of Bella. I looked back at her and she suddenly looked up. She was still crying, but she gave us a weak smile.

Rose and Alice suddenly stood up and started to walk to her. Bella shook her head and ran out the back door. Rose and Alice looked back at the floor.

"She's mad at us, isn't she?" Rose asked Jasper.

"No, she's not mad at anyone, well, no one but herself. For some reason, she thinks that everything that's happened to you, Alice, your mom and your dad, and all her boyfriends… she thinks all of that is her fault."

"Why would she think that?" I wondered aloud.

"Wouldn't you know?" Alice asked.

"For some reason, I can't hear her," I responded.

"Oh, I forgot," Alice said quietly, "She's a shield."

I looked at her quizzically.

"Her mind has a shield that keeps mental powers from affecting her," Alice explained.

"Interesting," I muttered.

Then, we heard the back door slam. Bella walked in and we all looked up at her.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have stormed out like that. Alice and Rose, it's not your fault. It's mine and I'm sorry. I just thought I'd tell you before I took off."

"Wait, what? Take off, where?" Rose asked.

"I don't know," she answered and then chuckled bitterly, "Off a cliff maybe?"

Alice glared at her but then her eyes went glassy, like she was daydreaming.

"No!" she hissed when her eyes returned to normal.

Bella heaved a sigh.

"I need to," Bella said.

"You can't!" Alice screamed.

Just then, the front door opened and a middle-aged woman walked in. She saw us, and her eyes widened.

"Oh," she said, "What's going on in here?"

"Mom!" Alice screamed, "Bella's planning on leaving Forks and she doesn't even know where she's going to go, yet!"

The woman, Esme I took it, looked at Bella.

"Why?" she asked.

"I'd rather not stay here," Bella said, "Everywhere I turn there's something that reminds me of what I couldn't do. Like, whenever I see the front porch, I remember the times I used to watch the sunset with Dad and it reminds me of how I couldn't save him. Now, all of a sudden, words and phrases are suddenly popping up and reminding me of everything my past boyfriends did and that reminds me of how I couldn't save them either."

"Bella," Esme said. She was still standing in the open doorway and my brothers and I suddenly felt very out of place. "It's not your fault. Your dad and your boyfriends, it wasn't your fault. It _is not_ your fault."

Suddenly, Bella's eyes filled with tears and they streaked down her cheeks again. Only this time, they came so much faster. Bella held her sides again and hugged her chest as if she was trying to keep it together again. She suddenly fell to her knees, and then she sat back against the wall.

"Oh, but it is," she said softly.

Esme crossed the room quickly but Bella was faster. She stood up, side stepped around her mother, and then ran up the stairs. We heard a door slam. Esme closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

She turned to my brothers and me and said, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

My voice was soft when I replied, "No. It's okay. We caused it so we should be apologizing. We should be leaving now. I'm really sorry to have caused you any trouble."

Taking my cue, my brothers and I walked out of the house, walked to the car, and drove home, in complete silence. I wasn't paying attention to Emmet's and Jasper's thoughts because my own thoughts were occupied.

All I could think about was when Bella had broken down in the living room. I'd had the most interesting urge to hold her in my arms and make her feel better. But… why? And why had I wanted to wipe away all the tears that had been streaming down her face? Why had I suddenly wanted to help her through the pain?

What was wrong with me?


	9. I'll Be

I couldn't take it anymore when Mom started walking towards me. I stood up quickly, sidestepped her, and then ran up the stairs to my room. I slammed the door and locked it. I had lost control of the mask I'd had on for about 30 years.

I don't know how that ended up the way it did. It just did. Luckily, I had stopped crying a few minutes after I ran up to my room, but now I didn't know what to do with myself.

I popped a CD into my CD player and turned the volume all the way up. The CD was Simple Plan. I sang along to the CD and lay on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I'd broken down in front of vampires. I'd broken down in front of the _Cullen_ vampires.

I rarely showed my weaknesses in front of my family, much less my enemies, so I honestly had no clue what happened and why I suddenly broke down. I shook my head. I didn't want to think about this right now. I sighed.

I looked at my clock and it read 9:49. I turned my light off and lowered the volume on my CD player. I went to sleep early and I dreamt about Ian, for the umpteenth time.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like crap. The dream I had left me restless. I kept tossing and turning. I took a quick shower and noticed why it was unusually quiet. Alice hadn't come in my room to help me with my outfit this morning.

I sighed, wondering if she was sad. I went to my closet and rummaged through my clothes. I found black skinny jeans and a dark gray shirt that said, "Don't mess." I grabbed a black hoodie and put on my high-top converse.

I didn't bother with breakfast. I went straight to my motorcycle, seeing that Rose and Alice already left for school. The ride to Forks let my face and my fingers numb but I didn't care. I was emotionally numb from my breakdown yesterday.

I'd been so pathetic and weak and then it had been laid out in front of everyone yesterday. My chest hurt and throughout the whole school day, I didn't talk, I didn't react to anybody. It's like I wasn't even really there.

I didn't even respond to Edward's taunting during biology. I ignored him just as I ignored everybody else who tried to talk to me. This routine didn't change for a week. But on Monday night, Alice snapped.

We were sitting at the dining table and I was just picking at my food. I never really ate anymore. That's when Alice slapped her fist on the table.

"That is _it!_" she screeched, "That is _freaking it!_"

I just looked up at her, shocked.

"Don't give me that face!" she yelled, "You've been dead all week! And I am done pretending like it's not happening! We are going _out! Tonight!"_

"It's a school night," I said, and my voice sounded dead even to me.

"I don't _give!_" she yelled again, "We are _going_ and _that_ is _that!_"

And for the first time in weeks, I felt my lips curve up in a smile and then a giggle, which turned into full-blown laughter at how childish Alice was acting.

"Fine," I said, "I think it would be best if you guys dragged me out for a girls night."

"No," Alice said firmly and I looked at her, confused, "We're inviting the guys out."

"The vampires?" I asked and my voice was suddenly dead.

"You are _not_ backing out! I will drag you by your _ears _if I have to, Isabella Marie Swan!" Alice yelled.

I had to laugh again. Alice was yelling at me like she was my mother but her words were so… so… childish.

"Fine, fine," I said, giving in, "Invite them. I'll just pretend they're not there."

Alice smiled triumphantly. We went back to eating and suddenly, I was starving. I ate at least three servings of Mom's white pasta. On my third serving, I caught my mom looking at me lovingly and I smiled at her. Her face brightened and I felt really guilty for worrying everybody.

After dinner, Alice insisted that she dress me up for this occasion. I complained a little but she gave me a hard look and I shut up. She dragged me to my room and dug through my clothes. Finding nothing, she groaned.

"Do you have _anything_ that remotely resembles a dress?" she complained.

Of course, Alice hadn't thought to look in the back of my closet. My closet was actually pretty big, she just hadn't explored all of it yet. I was about to respond when she had a vision and clapped her hands.

"You never told me!" she squealed and looked at the way back of my closet.

There, I had a bunch of dresses on hangers. Alice looked through them and I saw her eyes brighten when she saw something she wanted me to wear.

When she turned to me, she hid it behind her back though so I got a little nervous. I was going to say something but then she pointed to the bathroom.

"Take a shower," she commanded.

When Alice has authority in her voice, it kinda gives me the creeps so I did as she said. I took a quick shower. When I walked out in just a towel and walked in my room, Rose flung me a lacy pair of bra and underwear.

I was about to object when Alice gave me a glare. Jeesh. She was being really commanding today. I put on the under garments and Rose handed me a robe. I put that on too. I looked at them.

They moved me to a vanity mirror and did my hair and makeup. Rose did my hair where Alice did my makeup. Rose was blow-drying my hair. Then, she straightened, but messed it up a little to make it look playfully messy while staying somewhat orderly.

Alice put heavy eyeliner and mascara on my eyes. I was a little afraid of her when she came at me with an eyelash curler. But, I took a deep breath and let her curl my lashes. She also put that dark gray-ish eye shadow. Then, she put a little blush on my cheeks. She then told me to put lipstick on.

She handed me this ruby red color and I looked at her incredulously. But I did it anyway. After I put the lipstick on, she put this lip-gloss on my lips but its label read, "Lip plump." What the hell was that?

Then, both Alice and Rose looked me over. I looked at them and realized they were already dressed. Rose, of course, was stunning. She was wearing a blue sequined dress that stopped mid-thigh with matching peep toe pumps. Alice was wearing a white dress that showed her cleavage and stopped just an inch above her thighs. She had two-inch white stilettos.

"Jesus," I said.

"What?" Alice asked.

"You guys make me feel bad," I said with a chuckle.

"How so?" Rose asked.

"You guys are so much prettier than me," I said matter-of-factly.

"Silly," Rose said, "You're just as pretty as us."

I rolled my eyes at them but changed the subject.

"Where are we _going_, anyways?" I asked, wondering why they were so dressed up and wondering why Alice had to look for a dress for me.

"Teen club," Rose replied.

"What?" I asked, not sure I heard her right.

"Teen club in Port Angeles," Alice said, "It's like a club except only teenagers are allowed."

"Ah, if they only knew they were letting in teenagers who are more than 100 years old," I said wryly.

Alice rolled her eyes at me. She looked back in the mirror and smiled at my appearance.

"Bells, you look awesome!" she sang and clapped her hands.

I rolled my eyes at her. I didn't look any different from usual, did I? _Just the same old, plain me_, I thought. I shrugged and then Alice made me get up from the chair.

"Close your eyes," she commanded, "Rose and I will help you get into the dress."

"Why can't I put the dress on myself?" I asked warily.

"Because if you don't like it, you're not going to be able to take it off with Rose and me here," she answered happily.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and held out my arms. I heard Rose and Alice murmuring to each other. Alice told me to do the flamingo stance, standing on my left first. I heard the rush of fabric and then she told me to do the same but with the other foot.

I did as she said and I heard the rush of fabric again. Then, I felt the dress being pulled up by Rose and Alice. Rose told me to hold the dress up over my chest and I was ready to freak out. They were going to make me wear a strapless dress.

Then, I felt Rose zip it up. It fit perfectly and it wasn't falling, thank god.

"Can I open my eyes?" I complained.

I heard Alice clap her hands and squeal, "Yes!"

I opened my eyes and my jaw dropped. They had me in a black and red dress. It actually looked good on me. Though, I still didn't compare to Rose and Alice, I still looked great!

The dress was in a checkerboard style, but the squares were small and black and red. There was a black ribbon that circled my waist. And the bottom of the dress. Whoa. The dress only came up to two or three inches below my butt. (Here's the link. This is the dress I imagined only all the white parts are black, and the white part at the bottom of the dress, the frill things, aren't there so the bottom isn't poofy, and the heart at the top isn't there. http:// www. .uk/ )

It looked incredible on me. I looked at my sisters skeptically, though.

"You put me in _this_ for _clubbing_?" I asked.

"Well, yeah," Alice replied.

Oh, great. I just knew I was going to stick out. Then I looked at my feet. What shoes was I going to wear?

I turned to my closet and saw them. My favorite shoes in the whole world. But, before I could get them, I turned to my sisters.

"I get to choose what shoes and socks I wear, no exceptions," I said, but gave them a smile.

They looked at each other and then grumbled "Okay's". I smiled and turned to my closet. I grabbed my red and black converse and my red and black striped knee highs. I turned to my sisters with a smile on my face.

As soon as they saw the shoes, their faces fell.

"Please?" I asked.

"Fine," Alice agreed grudgingly.

I smiled at them. I suddenly hugged them and they looked at me in surprise.

"Sorry about last week," I said.

"Don't sweat it," Rose said.

"We forgive you," Alice agreed.

I smiled at them and then put my shoes and socks on. I was feeling like my old self, but I knew that I was still going to be a little withdrawn. The doorbell rang, then, but we heard Esme get it. Before either of us stepped towards the door, Alice stopped us.

"Finishing touches," she announced.

Rose and I followed her to her vanity. She took out a small container of blue and silver glitter. I laughed and she glared at me.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked.

"Nope," she responded.

"Can't we at least do that right before we get in the club?" I pleaded.

"Fine," she gave in.

I smiled at her and she put the container of glitter in her clutch purse. I followed her downstairs, Rose trailing behind me.

The Cullens were already in the living room. I tried to hide my disgust for going out with them, but I figured that my sisters had already started falling for the boys. I sighed inaudibly. I was going to support them through their decision, but that didn't mean I have to completely like it.

I looked at Emmet. He was in jeans and a flannel shirt and he couldn't keep his eyes off Rosalie. I smiled at that. I looked at Jasper. He had a t-shirt that said, "It's only funny until someone gets hurt… then it's hilarious." He was also wearing jeans and I noticed that his eyes were glued to Alice.

I looked at the last Cullen, wondering who he was staring at, if he was staring at anybody. Surprisingly, he was looking at me. I wanted to yell something mean but stopped myself. I had to be nice.

When I looked at his outfit, I saw that he was in jeans and a plain white button-down shirt but the top buttons were open, showing the top of his muscled chest. I looked away quickly and focused on the steps.

As luck would show it, I tripped but caught myself on the banister.

"She's back!" Emmet boomed.

I laughed and Jasper smiled.

"She's laughing," he said with an approving nod.

Once we were off the stairs, Emmet picked me up in a huge bear hug and swung me around.

"Emmet!" I yelled, "My dress! My _dress_ is flying _up!_"

He dropped me and I straightened my dress while everybody laughed. I blushed, and it felt good. I hadn't blushed at all in the past week and it felt good to be me again.

I noticed that Edward was still staring at me. I looked at him and gave him a small smile. He returned it with a crooked grin and I looked away to Alice.

"Alice?" I asked.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"How am I supposed to ride my motorcycle in a dress?" I asked warily.

"You figure that one out on your own," she said with a wry smile.


	10. Mood Rings

I decided to take my car instead of my motorcycle. The girls would be riding with me and the guys would be taking Emmet's Jeep. The guys were behind us because Alice was the one who knew the directions.

She told me where to go and once we were out of our house's view, I sped up to 150. I looked in my rearview mirror to see three shocked vampires and I threw back my head and laughed, really laughed.

Alice and Rose joined me but then the boys quickly caught up. I was surprised. A jeep was going 150. Nice.

We made it to Port Angeles in under an hour, whereas if we'd been driving normally it would have taken about an hour and a half or so. The teenage club really looked like an actual club with a bouncer at the entrance and a very long line trying to get in.

The club was a two-story brick building and there were some windows. Through them, you could see flashing lights and you could hear the beat from the music. In the front of the club, I pulled up to the curb.

The bouncer looked at me and said, "You can't park here."

I climbed over Alice, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, to stick my head out of the window. I looked at the bouncer and at the line. Every head was turned to me in the Ferrari.

"I can't park here?" I asked with a pout.

The bouncer seemed flustered, and it looked weird that he was flustered. He was a well-muscled African American man who looked scary and pissed, and when I say flustered, I mean _flustered._ I wondered, _Was that because of me?_

I gave him my megawatt smile and he seemed to get even more flustered.

"Excuse me?" I asked softly, "I can't park here?"

The bouncer nodded his shaved head.

I pouted but then asked, "Can I let my sisters out here, though?"

He nodded and I smiled at him again.

"Thanks," I said with a big smile.

My sisters got out of the car and I swear every guy in the line started drooling right then and there. I looked in my rearview mirror. I saw that Jasper had been driving and he was letting his brothers out of the car.

When Emmet and Edward emerged from the car, all the girls in the line started drooling. I couldn't help but throw my head back again and laugh once more. I stuck out my head again to ask one more question.

"Where can I park?" I asked the bouncer.

He pointed to the corner and I saw a lot.

"Thanks," I said.

I got in my car, shifted gears, and drove at 40 towards the corner. I parked in the first parking space I saw. Jasper had to drive all the way to the end of the lot. I waited for him and leaned against the back of my car.

That's when I saw a three men, around their twenties, walk into the lot. They sounded drunk and I was hoping they wouldn't notice me, but my luck ran out.

One of them walked up to me.

"Hey, baby, what're you doing out here all alone?" he said.

I looked away disgusted and growled, "Leave me alone."

"Don't be like that, baby," he said, stepping closer.

I shook my head. "Don't call me baby," I replied.

"Aw, come on," he said.

He had now come up to right in front of me. I could smell the alcohol in his breath and I turned away in disgust. Wrong move. The man gripped my arm and I jerked from his touch.

"Leave me alone," I said.

I tried to walk away but the man grabbed my wrist.

"Come with me, we'll have some fun," he said to me.

"Let me go!" I yelled, yanking my arm from his grip.

Suddenly, Jasper was next to me.

"Leave her alone," he said.

I relaxed now that I had a vampire with me… if that made any sense…

"Oh, you her boyfriend?" the guy asked, "How good is she in bed?"

And that sent me over the edge.

"Why, you little…" I muttered and I tried to jump at him.

This guy had no right whatsoever and he had pushed me to my limit. Jasper caught me by my stomach.

"Jasper!" I yelled, "Let me go! Let me kick this guy's _ass!"_

"She's feisty," I heard the guy say, "She _must _be a good fuck."

I managed to get away from Jasper. I ran up to the guy and kneed him where I knew it would hurt. He grabbed his family jewels and I smiled in triumph. I was going to do more, but Jasper caught me again. He threw me over his shoulder and walked out of the lot.

"Jasper!" I complained, "Let me kick his ass! He deserves it!"

"Bella," he said, "Calm down."

And I did. I suddenly felt calmer. I stopped fighting him but I crossed my arms and glared at the floor.

"Don't be mad at me, now," Jasper said, "Oh, and remind me never to piss you off. You kneed _hard._"

"What do you expect?" I muttered, "I hate guys like that."

"Yeah, well, your lucky his friends don't come after you. I think they're too scared, right now," he said.

I realized that we'd now come to the club's line and Jasper still had me thrown over his shoulder. I sighed grumpily as I felt the weight of the stares of the people in line. I didn't know why Jasper didn't stop to get in line like the rest of the kids in line.

I looked up and saw that Alice, Rose, Emmet, and Edward were standing on the sidewalk, near the front of the line. Edward looked up at Jasper in alarm. Alice, Rose, and Emmet were looking at us like they couldn't believe the sight they were seeing.

"What the hell?" Edward roared.

Some of the people in line flinched.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, concerned.

It took my a few moments to respond and my reply was stupid

"Huh?" I answered.

"Those guys," Edward fumed, "Did they hurt you?"

Then, I laughed heartily. Edward looked at me with a confused expression.

"I think I did more damage to them than they did to me," I said, still chuckling.

Rose and Alice were looking at me. I belatedly realized that they didn't know what happened.

"Oh," I said, "Some drunk guys were trying to get into my pants."

My sisters looked horrified and Emmet looked furious.

"Whoa, whoa," I said, holding my hands up, "Relax. I took care of it. I kneed him in his sensitive place. It's cool."

"Bella-" Alice began but I cut her off.

"I'm fine," I said, "Now, are we going to get in line, or what? It's going to take forever for us to get in if we don't get in line _now._"

Rose looked at me like I was crazy and laughed.

"We're not going to wait to get in," she said, "We're going to do it like they do it in movies."

I looked at her, not comprehending but she shook her head at me and grabbed my hand. We walked up to the bouncer. He looked flustered just by Rose's presence. I tried not to giggle. I gave him my megawatt smile and he looked even more flustered.

"Can you let us in?" Rose asked, looking up from her eyelashes.

"I… uh.. I can't…uh… do that miss… That would…. Uh… be unfair…" the bouncer stuttered.

"Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Rose asked, batting her eyelashes.

The bouncer replied, dazzled, "Uh…sure."

He let us in as if he were in a daze. We thanked him as we entered the club. Once inside, we all started laughing our heads off. The walls seemed to shake with the beat of the song.

When I recognized it, I started jumping up and down, squealing.

"I love this song!" I yelled, over the beat of the song Love Addict by Family Force 5.

I grabbed my sisters' hands and pulled them to the middle of the dance floor. A hundred bodies were in the space that was supposed to be the dance floor. People seemed to part for my sisters and me, though, so getting to the middle wasn't a problem.

When the song came to its chorus, my sisters and I sang/screamed along with the lead singer. "Hold up, wait a minute, put a little love in it," we sang, "Hey, can't kick the habit! Yeah, I got to have it! Yeah, I'm what they call a Love Addict, Love Addict." We kept singing to the song and jumping and swaying to the beat.

In the middle of the song, Alice said, "Oh! We forgot!"

She opened her clutch purse to get the container of glitter out. She unscrewed the lid but then a girl hit her elbow, causing her to accidentally throw the container in the air. It did this weird half-flip thing and then fell, face down.

This made everything spill directly on my hair and face. Rose and Alice laughed their butts off while I tried to get most of it off my face. I gave up eventually, though.

I looked at my sisters and then shook my hair in their direction. They laughed as the glitter in my hair was shaken off in their direction.

We laughed and then recognized the next song. It was All of your Love(Remix) by Hellogoodbye. We started dancing and singing again.

Once the song was over, Alice yelled, "Bella! You need to sing."

I laughed in her face. "No way, Alice. Not in front of all of these people, I can't," I replied.

"But it'd be a treat for everybody here. You sing so well, though. And I haven't heard you sing in front of a crowd in forever. Please, you can sing something slow," she argued.

"But I'd freeze up in front of everybody," I replied.

She muttered something under her breath that I didn't catch. But then, the next song started up and my sisters and I danced and sang through three more songs. Then, I saw Jasper and Emmet inching their way towards Rose and Alice so I slipped away.

I noticed a bar-type-looking stand against one of the walls of the club. I walked towards it, taking a seat on a chair. A guy was standing behind the counter, making some kids drinks.

"You want anything?" he asked me.

"Virgin margarita?" I asked hopefully.

"Coming right up," he said and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I looked back at the dance floor and saw Jasper and Alice dancing, staring into each other's eyes and Emmet and Rose getting a little too close for my liking. I sighed and turned towards the "bartender". He put my drink in front of me and I handed him a ten.

He was going to give me changed when I objected.

"You keep the change for yourself," I said, giving him a small smile.

"Thanks," he said and I shrugged my shoulders.

I looked to the dance floor and saw Alice was gone. I looked for her and saw her by the DJ. I was going to inspect some more but something else caught my attention. I saw Edward trying to make his way towards Emmet, Rose, and Jasper, but then a bunch of girls surrounded him and tried to dance with him. I couldn't help but laugh.

When I was finished laughing, I looked back to the DJ but didn't see Alice. I looked through the crowd and saw her already talking to Emmet, Rose and Jasper. Edward was still struggling to get to them.

I saw Alice point at me and I took one last sip of my drink. I was going to make my way through the crowd to them, but then the music stopped and everyone stopped to look at the DJ.

"I've got a volunteer to sing for you all tonight," the DJ said and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. I started to back up, not wanting to hear the volunteer's name.

"Her name is Bella Swan, everybody," the DJ said and I turned around to run away. The DJ called, "Can Bella Swan please step up to the DJ's mix table?"

I didn't even look around. I continued to walk away but then I felt strong arms pick me up like nothing. Emmet had picked me up and thrown me over his shoulder. I struggled but then gave up because I knew it was pointless.

Emmet must have felt me give up because then he put me down and gave me an encouraging push towards the DJ's mix table.

"You're Bella, right?" the DJ asked.

I gulped loudly, but smiled and nodded.

"Well, this is Bella Swan, everybody," the DJ announced.

He handed me the microphone.

"What song do I play?" he asked me.

I thought about it for a minute.

"Do you have The Suffering by Coheed and Cambria?" I asked.

"Sure thing. I'll pop it in and you can go," he said.

I gave him a smile and turned to the crowd. Everyone was looking at me. I gulped loudly again and took a deep breath. The music started to play and the bodies started to sway again. I tapped my foot to the beat. Then, I started to sing. At first, it was soft but it gradually grew stronger.

"_Is there word or right to say_

_Even in this old-fashioned way?_

_Go make your move girl._

_I'm not coming home._

_Would things have changed if I could've stayed?_

_Would you have loved me either way?_

_Dressed to the blues_

_Day to day with my collar up._

_Decision sits so make it quick_

_A breath inhaled from an air so sick_

_I cursed the day that I'd learned_

_Of the web you span_

_You had your hold till bleeding_

_(Hey, Hey!)_

_If it was up to me_

_I would've figured you out_

_Way before the year clocked out_

_Oh, I hope you're waiting_

_(Hey, Hey!)_

_If it was up to me_

_I would have never walked out_

_So until the sun burns out_

_Oh, I hope you're waiting_

_We have lived as a child would care_

_With this vial to drink I dare_

_(Oh where have you been, oh where have you been)_

_Only to cry all alone with your taste on tongue_

_(Oh where have you been if it hurts to be forgiving, Bye)_

_Should we try this again with hope (Bye, bye)_

_Or is it lost, give up the ghost_

_And should I die all alone as I knew I would_

_(Then burn in hell young sinner)_

_(Hey, Hey!)_

_If it was up to me_

_I would've figured you out_

_Way before the year clocked out_

_Oh, I hope you're waiting_

_Oh, I hope you're waiting_

_Listen well, will you marry me (Not now, Boy)_

_And are you well in the Suffering (You've been)_

_The most gracious of hosts_

_You may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in_

_Listen well, will you marry me (Not now, Boy)_

_And are you well in the Suffering (You've been)_

_The most gracious of hosts_

_I may be invited, girl, but I'm not coming in_

_(Hey, Hey!)_

_If it was up to me_

_I would've figured you out_

_Way before the year clocked out_

_Oh, I hope you're waiting_

_(Hey, Hey!)_

_If it was up to me_

_I would have never walked out_

_So until the sun burns out_

_Oh, I hope you're waiting_

_Listen well, will you marry me (Not now, Boy)_

_And are you well in the Suffering (You've been)_

_The most gracious of hosts_

_You may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in_

_Listen well, will you marry me (Not now, Boy)_

_And are you well in the Suffering (You've been)_

_The most gracious of hosts_

_I may be invited, girl, but I'm not coming in_

_Listen well, will you marry me (Not now, Boy)_

_And are you well in the Suffering (You've been)_

_The most gracious of hosts_

_You may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in_

_Listen well, will you marry me (Not now, Boy)_

_And are you well in the Suffering (You've been)_

_The most gracious of hosts_

_I may be invited, girl, but I'm not coming in_

_And you're not coming in"_

When I was finished, there was a huge round of clapping. I breathed a sigh of relief, but then I saw Alice at the DJ's mix table.

"And we have a request for Bella, here. It's a slow song, so you can either take a rest or, couples, you know what to do," the DJ said.

I glared at Alice but she just stuck her tongue out at me. The song started playing and I fell into its rhythm. The song was I'll Be by Edwin McCain. It was one of my favorite songs, so I knew it very well.

As the song started, I saw lots of kids get off the dance floor, but I looked at the couples. I saw Edward being held onto by a bunch of girls. That made me giggle quietly. Then, I saw Alice and Jasper slow dancing. Then, I saw Rose and Emmet slow-dancing too. I smiled into the microphone and let the music wash over me.

_"The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful_

_Stop me and steal my breath_

_And emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky_

_Never revealing their depth_

_And tell me that we belong together_

_Dress it up with the trappings of love_

_I'll be captivated, I'll hang from your lips_

_Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

_And I'll be your cryin' shoulder_

_I'll be love's suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

_And rain falls angry on the tin roof_

_As we lie awake in my bed_

_You're my survival, you're my living proof_

_My love is alive and not dead_

_So tell me that we belong together_

_Dress it up with the trappings of love_

_I'll be captivated, I'll hang from your lips_

_Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

_And I'll be your cryin' shoulder_

_I'll be love's suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

_And I've dropped out, I've burned up_

_I fought my way back from the dead_

_I've tuned in, I've turned on_

_Remembered the things that you said_

_And I'll be your cryin' shoulder_

_I'll be love's suicide_

_I'll be better when I'm older_

_I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

_The greatest fan of your whole life"_

There was a large round of applause and I blushed.

"Thank you," I said into the microphone and handed it to the DJ. Then, I ran to the bar, trying to get away from everybody's stares.

The tender looked at me and smiled. He made me my margarita and refused the money I gave him for my drink, when he gave it to me.

"It's on the house," he said.

"Thanks," I replied.

I took a very large gulp of the virgin margarita. I put my hands on the countertop and put my head on my arms. I can't believe Alice made me do that. I hadn't sung in front of a crowd since I…

I forced myself to think of it, of _him_. I hadn't sung in front of a crowd since the night Ian was killed. I'd sung for him while his body burned. I took a deep breath and then took another big gulp of my virgin margarita.

I decided that I needed some air. I tried to find the doors that lead outside but had no such luck. I looked around the dance floor for my sisters and the Cullens but couldn't see them.

I shrugged and saw another door. I went through it and it opened to an alley. No one was there. I gulped in the night air and leaned against the brick wall of the club, just to whirl around at the sound of a male voice.

"Hey, baby. It's me. I'm back," a man said, walking down the alley, towards me.


	11. Let Go

My muscles tensed as I saw three staggering figures walking towards me. _Crap, crap, crap!_ I thought. I walked backwards to the door I'd come out of, keeping my eyes on the figures walking towards me.

I reached for the door handle and turned it. _No!_ I thought. The door was locked. But, it had opened just fine when I exited the club. It shouldn't have been locked now… unless it was the kind of door that locked on the outside.

In my desperation, I turned around to grab the door handle with both hands and pulled and pulled. No dice. No, no! I started pounding on the door, but I knew that no one would be able to distinguish it from the beat of the music.

Then, I asked myself, what the hell I was doing? I'd easily kicked this guy in the balls before and had been looking forward to kicking his ass. He'd get what he deserved now. I turned around with a smug smirk on my face, anticipating the beating I was going to dish in.

But, his face stopped me. _Ian_, my mind wailed. My breath caught and pain entered my chest. In the parking lot, I hadn't been able to see that man's face because there hadn't been any lights and a shadow had been thrown across his face while he'd been coming onto me.

But now, I saw that the man's face looked almost identical to Ian's. The black hair, angular jaw, full lips. The only differences were that this man's eyes were brown but Ian's had been an emerald green with gray flecks and Ian's nose hadn't been crooked.

"Ian?" I whispered, not believing what I was seeing.

"No, baby, my name is Chris," he replied, in a voice that I didn't recognize as Ian's.

_Stop that, Bella!_ My brain yelled at me, _This isn't Ian! Ian is gone! This isn't him!_

_It's _him!_ It's Ian!_ My heart screamed, _This is _him!_ He's back! He's back! My Ian!_

I couldn't react. My body was frozen against the door. The man, taking this as a good sign, walked up to me and caressed my cheek. "Get the hell off me!" I wanted to shout at him but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

_Bella!_ My brain shouted again, _Kick this stranger's ass!_

_You can't,_ my heart screamed at me, _It's Ian!_

My body wasn't reacting. It seemed to shut down from the onslaught of screams and orders it was getting from two of the most important organs that kept it going. In fact, I don't even think I was breathing. I couldn't tell, but what I could tell was that my chest hurt.

The man, Chris he said his name was, ran his hands up my thigh to cup my butt. "Don't touch me!" I tried to scream but once again, when my mouth opened, nothing came out. He lifted my dress and when I tried to scream, all the came out was a whimper.

What the hell was wrong with me? I'd kicked vampire ass before, why couldn't I take down this dirty human? But I knew the answer to the question. He looked too much like Ian. And I had never gotten over Ian.

I didn't know what to do. I thought Alice would have "seen" me now, because the guy was lifting my dress over my waist now, still caressing my legs. I guessed that she was busy, though.

God! How was I supposed to get someone to help me? I cursed myself for being so weak… so pathetic. Then, I remembered. Edward. Mind reader. But, shouldn't he have heard me by now… my shield!

I took a deep breath and let it out as I tried to let my barriers fall.

Then, I screamed in my head, _CULLEN! HELP ME!!! OUTSIDE, BACK ALLEY! THE GUYS ARE BACK! THEY'RE BACK! HELP ME, PLEASE!!! _

I vaguely realized that I was sobbing inside my head, though my eyes weren't reacting. The guy had kissed my throat and then began kissing lower. I started to cry. I felt my barriers snap into place again.

_Bella,_ my brain said, _You can do this. Remember your techniques. Kick his ass. Kick this stranger's ass._

I focused my mind. I found a technique I was used to and was about to thrust my palm upward to lodge this guy's nose in his brain but pain attacked my chest and I gasped from the intensity.

_You can't!_ My head screamed, _You can't hurt Ian! You killed him once! You can't do it again._

Now, the tears flowed faster and I still couldn't say a thing. Then, the door next to me burst open to reveal three very pissed off male vampires and my two very concerned sisters.

Chris stepped away from me. My knees gave out and I fell to the alley floor. I curled into a ball and began rocking, trying to get rid of the pain in my chest.

"Oh my god! Bella!" Rose shouted.

I heard the three vampires growling and looked up to see Chris cowering away from them. My heart wailed Ian's name. When Edward stepped towards Chris, the pain in my chest flared and took my breath away.

I barely registered Alice and Rose trying to help me up and examining me to see if I was alright. I'd managed to get out of my ball but I was staring up at Chris's face contorted with fear.

_That was what Ian looked like when he ran back to save you,_ my heart taunted me, _and you're going to let him die just like last time._

Alice turned around to look at what I was staring at and let out a gasp. She turned to me with concern practically pouring out of her eyes.

"Bella," she said, "It's not Ian. Come on, snap out of it. Ian was better than that. Don't mix him up with that bastard. Come on, Bella. Snap out of it. It's not Ian!"

Rose looked at Chris, wondering what we were talking about and let out her own gasp.

"Bella," Rose said, "You know that Ian would never do anything like that. He was a gentleman through and through. You have to remember that he even asked to have yours, Mom's and Alice's and my permission to kiss you and take you out on a date. Ian wouldn't do that to you. Bells, please snap out of it."

I barely heard them. I heard a strangled sound and wondered what it was and whom it came from. Then, I realized it had come from me. It was a strangled sound that was crossed between a cry, a sob, a scream, and fear.

"God, Bella," Rose said, "We need to get you out of here. Let's get you home."

They tried to get me up but I wasn't responding. In fact, I closed my eyes and let my exhausted body shut down.

All I could think was, when had I become so god damn weak?

* * *

I opened my eyes to sunlight. Sunlight? I sat up and saw sunlight through my window. My window? Was I home? Ugh. My head hurt. What happened at the club last night? And it all came rushing back to me. I sat straight up and accidentally fell out of bed but was cushioned, if you could call it that, by a rock hard body.

I gasped and jumped up. What the hell? I looked around my room. Alice and Rose were asleep on my bed and I'd fallen on top of a grinning Emmet. Edward was watching me from a corner and Jasper was in another corner.

I put a hand to my head. It was throbbing. I tried walking and the memory of the guy's face from last night sent pain shooting through my chest. I hadn't seen Ian's face anywhere except from my memories until last night.

That's what made me lose my cool. I fell to my knees as the room spun dizzily. How come I felt so hungover? Edward was immediately at my side and I couldn't help but snap at him.

"What are you doing here, bloodsucker?" I hissed.

I put another hand to my aching head. Edward put a hand on my shoulder and I felt a probing at my shield.

"Stop trying to get into my head, leech, and leave me the hell alone!" I yelled.

I jumped to my feet and cursed as the room spun. I didn't care. I ran out of my room, down the stairs, out the backdoor, and onto the path the lead into the forest.

That probably just ruined my chances of ever befriending the Cullens, not that I could care at the moment. My head was still throbbing and I didn't know where I was heading. I just knew that I had to get away from the house.

I needed to get away from my family and these memories. I raked a hand through my hair and looked at my surroundings. I was in the middle of the forest. I found a fallen tree and lay down on it.

I stared up at the sky, fighting the memories that had been fighting to take over me since I arrived in the god-forsaken town called Forks. I was so tired. Tired of fighting against the memories that fought back harder than any of the vampires I'd killed, tired of pushing people away, tired of being so weak.

I took a deep breath and let the memories rush at me. It was like replaying my life over again only the most bittersweet parts were highlighted. First, memories of dad came crashing down on me and I cried for him.

Then, memories of Dan, Sean, and John. I cried for them too. But then, the memories of Ian began.

I remembered the first day I saw him. He'd looked into my eyes and it seemed like his eyes saw through to my soul, him telling me he'd break the shell I kept myself in all the time, him finding me crying against a tree, him kissing me for the first time, our first date.

All these pleasant memories and I felt helpless as my heart swelled like it was happening again and I was falling in love with Ian once more. Then, the night he was killed. I told myself not to fight it and watched it in my head. When I was done, I opened my eyes and stared at the sunlight.

And I think I was hallucinating because I thought I saw Ian. I walked farther into the trees and there he was, though he looked a little transparent.

"Ian," I whispered, "I must be going crazy."

He shook his head and looked at me and again, his eyes looking into my soul like the first day I saw him. I fell to my knees holding my chest.

"I'm sorry, Ian. I let you down. I'm so god damn sorry. It's my entire fault. I've never been able to get over it because I couldn't save you. I swear I didn't mean for you to be killed. I never wanted you to leave me. I loved you so much back then and I still do. I always will. I couldn't take it when you died. I'd thought we'd be together forever. And I still blame myself for not saving our forever. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Ian. I'm so sorry," I sobbed.

"Bella," his beautiful voice answered and I let out another huge sob, "Stop blaming yourself. It was never your fault and if you still blame yourself, listen to me. I forgive you. Remember that. It was never your fault. And I love you, too, always have, always will. Now, let go and live, Bella. Live for yourself, now. _Live._"

And just like that, he was gone. I was sure that I hallucinated. That couldn't have been real, could it? But, why did I feel so light? Why did I feel like what he said actually meant something?

After more than 30 years of grieving, why did I finally feel… whole?


	12. Wish You The Worst

**Sorry about this chapter guys.**

**It's pretty much just a filler.**

**I, personally, think it sucks.**

**Sorry, my updates might be a little slow in the next few weeks, I'll be busy.**

**My academic decathlon competition and speech tournament is coming up, so i'm going to be busy as hell.**

**Wow... that _totally_ didn't make me sound like a dork... x]**

**Anyways, keep reading, please :]**

** -Jules  
**

* * *

After that, I went back to sit down on the fallen tree. I stayed there for about two more hours before I made my way back to the house. The whole way there, I thought of Ian, testing the pain in my chest, but it never came back.

Needless to say, I was thrilled. I was genuinely smiling on my own, when I walked back into the house. Alice, Rose, Emmet, Jasper and Edward were already in the living room when I walked.

Alice and Rose stood up immediately when they saw me. I smiled at them and they stopped walking towards me to look at me incredulously. In fact, everyone was looking at me incredulously. Jasper, especially, since he probably sensed my mood.

"Bella?" Alice asked, "Are you okay?"

"Better than okay," I said, my voice strong and clear for the first time in a while, "It's gone, Alice, Rose. The pain is gone."

"Oh my… really? You're not lying to us again, are you?" Rose asked.

"No," I replied, "I feel… so much lighter."

"Where did you go?" Alice asked, "What happened?"

"I went into the woods," I answered, "I found this fallen tree and lay down on it. I was so… overwhelmed. Ever since we got to Forks and especially since last night, memories that I'd suppressed had been fighting to be revisited. And I was so tired. I realized that I was tired of being so… pathetic and of fighting back my memories. So, I let them wash over me. And at first the pain in my chest was unbearable. But, I swear, after I let the memories work through me and I opened my eyes, I saw Ian. He'd said that it wasn't my fault and that if I still didn't believe him that he forgave me. And then he said that he'd always love and he said that I should let go and live."

Everyone was looking at me skeptically.

"I know," I said, "I was probably hallucinating, but after it happened, I felt so much better. I felt complete and whole and I… I feel fine for the first time in over 30 years. Alice, Rose, I don't feel guilt-ridden and heartbroken. I'm… _happy_."

Alice and Rose ran over to me then and hugged me tight. I hugged them back just as tightly so I'm sure none of us could breathe at that moment but couldn't care less. Jasper was smiling and so was Emmet, but when I looked at Edward, he was frowning in confusion.

"What?" I asked, determined not to lose my good mood.

"You're right," he said, his voice rock hard, and I looked at him quizzically with a small smile still on my face, "You were probably hallucinating, maybe we should have Carlisle give you a checkup."

…and there went my mood. My shoulders slumped and I let go of Alice and Rose. Everyone was looking at Edward now, as I was.

"Yeah," I said, all trace of strength and clarity gone without a trace, "Maybe you should."

I ran upstairs, wondering how I could have felt whole when I already knew that I'd been hallucinating, when I knew that my subconscious self just gave me what I needed the most to keep my spirit from undergoing any more torture.

I belatedly realized that it was Tuesday and school was already almost over. Mom must have let us sleep in after Rose and Alice filled her in on what had happened last night. They'd probably told Emmet, Jasper, and Edward everything else, too.

Though I was disappointed in myself, I still felt whole. I sighed and lay back on my bed. I put a Family Force 5 CD and just chilled out.

When the CD was over, I decided to walk back downstairs, feeling a little better about myself. Everyone was still in the living room, doing nothing. I laughed at how thoughtful they all looked. They seemed to be concentrating on something _hard_. But, they all turned my way with shocked expressions when I laughed.

"Don't give yourselves brain hemorrhages," I taunted.

Alice and Rose looked concerned but I shook my head at them. I looked at the vampires. They looked like they wanted to say something too but I just shrugged and sat at the bottom of the stairs.

Nobody said anything for a while. Everyone just seemed to stare at the ceiling and I broke it. The awkward silence stretched.

I yelled, "A GAY BABY WAS BORN!"

Another awkward silence.

"Another one," I said.

Rose and Alice were looking at me, and I knew they were trying to remember why what I said sounded so familiar. They seemed to remember at the same time because they burst into laughter, as I did.

"I remember that!" Alice said.

"'For every awkward silence, a gay baby is born,'" Rose quoted solemnly before bursting into laughter with Alice and me.

It was something that we'd come up with, to get through awkward silences. We hadn't used that phrase in a long time though. The vampires were looking at us like we were crazy, so I just grinned at them.

"Who knew hallucinating could make you feel so free," I joked.

Alice laughed, and said, "We learned that a long time ago. Remember that time we got our hands on that gigantic bottle of vodka?"

Rose burst into laughter. "Oh! That was a long time ago, wasn't it?"

"Oh my god!" I squealed, "Remember how Rose hit on _Darth the Fart_."

"Don't remind me," Rose said, shuddering, "He was the grossest thing in history."

"That wasn't as funny as when Alice hit on… oh, god, what was his name? Mr. Crapper, Mr. Craler? Mr. Cracker? Or something like that? You know, that Lit teacher." I said.

"Oh, ew, yeah," Alice said, "Mr. Combover? Ugh. That was just horrible. But, that wasn't as bad as Bella getting all nice and cozy with the our _way_ younger cousin."

The three of us burst into laughter. Emmet soon joined us and so did Jasper. Edward still looked deep in thought. He was studying me. I tried my hardest to ignore him.

"What?" I asked, still laughing with the others, "He looked cute in the dark and how was I supposed to know he was our cousin?"

"He introduced himself as Damien Swan!" Alice squealed and we laughed harder.

"Oh, yeah," I said, "I forgot that."

We launched into another round of laughter. Suddenly, Edward was standing up and striding towards the door.

"Wai-" I tried to say but he cut me off.

"You really must be insane," he hissed and walked out of the front door.

Everyone was stunned, well, everyone except Jasper. Jasper looked angry.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into the silence.

Jasper shook his head.

"It's not your fault," he said, "It's Edward's. I think Emmet and I need to talk to him. Sorry. We'll see you tomorrow."

And just like, both of them were out the door, too. It was quiet inside the Swan house for a few minutes. Then, I heaved a big sigh.

"What do you girls wanna do?" I asked.

"Let's go shopping!" Alice squealed.

"Sure. Let's go," I said.

* * *

**EPOV**

I can't believe I yelled at Bella twice, accusing her of being clinically insane. I don't think I meant to. I was just annoyed at myself. I'd been worried when she'd first ran out of the house, so when she came back, smiling and happy at a possible hallucination, I was angry at myself for letting her get under my skin.

So, I took it out on her. Of course, after that, everyone else in the room was pissed off at me. Rose kept up a very long string of obscenities for a good hour, in fact. I was worried about Bella again, though I kept asking myself why.

I mean, she'd threatened me the first day I met her and she's not exactly the first person I'd go to just to talk. But nonetheless, I was worried that I'd hurt her feelings and that all her recent progress had gone down the drain.

So, when she came down the stairs and laughed and kept joking around with the others, I was extremely annoyed again. Of course, it was at myself but still, I was annoyed. I kept studying her, wondering what was up with the mood swing. When nothing came to my mind, I snapped.

Then, I ran out of the house and into the woods. I didn't bother with the car. My brothers would take the car back. I preferred to run. I ran, pushing my vampire speed, around Forks a few times before running back to my house.

I saw that Emmet and Jasper were already there. I pushed away their thoughts, still annoyed at myself. When I walked into the house and plopped down onto the couch, Jazz and Em were immediately on me.

"Why'd you snap at her like that, dude?" Em asked.

I just shrugged.

"You were annoyed at yourself. You didn't have to take it out on her," Jazz added.

I took a deep breath and sighed.

"She's been through enough shit already," Emmet said.

"She's thought that everything's been her fault for her whole life," Jazz said.

I snapped.

"I don't care about her," I seethed, "I don't care about that stupid vampire hunter family. Just leave me the hell alone."

With that, I retreated to my room. Nobody disturbed me while I listened to a Debussy CD and while I thought. One question seemed to bounce around in my mind a lot.

Did I really not care about Bella and her family?


	13. Earthquake

**Okay, so just another quick AN. **

**I'm going to start writing another fanfic.**

**I told my friend the idea for it and she's making me write it.**

**So, look forward to that soon as well.**

**R&R PLEASE!!!**

** -Jules  
**

* * *

A few weeks passed and I was happy, smiling, and laughing. Edward seemed more distant now, though, even to his brothers. I didn't know what was going on with him, but I guess if he wanted to talk about it to me, he would.

School had just ended and I was walking to my Ferrari. I was smiling after Rose smacked Emmet on the back of his head because he was making X rated innuendos and being his immature self. I found that I was slowly befriending the vampires, though my instincts still screamed at me to fight a lot.

When I reached my Ferrari, I accidentally dropped my keys on the icy ground. The other night, it had snowed and then frozen over so that the streets were much more slippery and harder to maneuver on.

After I dropped my keys, I saw a scratch on my car door. I cursed under my breath and looked around. I caught Edward's eye. He was watching me from all the way across the parking lot. I looked away, confused. I bent down to examine the scratch. I tried to rub it off but it was being stubborn.

I straightened up and that's when I heard it. A high-pitched squealing sound. I turned around to see a huge blue van screeching towards me. All I could think was, _Rose, Esme, and Alice are going to be crushed._

Then something cold and hard slammed into me and I fell to the ground. I hit my head, which caused a loud ringing in my ears. I looked up to find an angry Edward pushing the car away from me and then pick it up so that it wouldn't crush my legs.

His arm was wrapped around my waist and he was pulling me to his chest.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked dazedly.

Edward looked at me and I could now hear people screaming my name. He seemed to realize how close we were at the same time because he let me go.

"Tyler," he said, "That's what happened."

My head hurt like hell. I groaned and Edward chuckled quietly. It took quite a few of the teachers to get the van away from us. Then, I was strapped to a gurney, though Edward walked like a free man.

The ambulance took me to the local hospital where everybody treated me like I was the most fragile thing ever. Puh-lease. I knew what a concussion felt like and I did not have one.

But, the doctor insisted to check me out. A man with blonde hair looking like a movie star walked in. Vampire. My instincts screamed at me to get ready to fight but those were just my old vampire hunter instincts.

"I'm Doctor Carlisle Cullen," he said.

Ah, so this was the father figure of the coven.

"Hi," I answered, "I'm Bella."

"Ah, the other famous vampire hunter," he said quietly, winking at me.

I chuckled and nodded.

"Well," he said, "You don't have a concussion but I suggest you take painkillers when the pain gets too hard for you."

"Thanks," I said.

He walked out of the room and Edward slipped in.

"You okay?" he asked.

I chuckled.

"You heard what your dad said. I'm fine," I answered, getting up from the hospital bed.

"Don't go out there just yet," Edward said, "Carlisle is asking Esme out on a date."

"I'm happy for her," I said, smiling, "Alice and Rose too. They're so happy."

"And you're not?" he asked.

"I am, I guess," I said.

"That's good," Edward muttered.

"Oh, Edward?" I asked.

"Yes?" he responded.

"Thanks for saving my life," I said with a big smile.

Just then, Esme walked in, beaming, but as soon as she saw me she jumped into overprotective mother mode. I reassured her that I was fine. We turned to walk out of the room but before we left, I looked back at Edward and gave him a goodbye wave.

* * *

**EPOV**

When I heard the screech of the van and saw Bella close her eyes in thought, I freaked out. I ran to her as fast as I could and knocked her to the ground. I stopped the van and then lifted and maneuvered it so that Bella would be safe.

I saw her beautiful eyes looking up at me. Her scent filled my nose, but, I found, that I could now be around her without my throat feeling like a hot iron had been shoved down it.

She asked what happened and I told her. It took the teachers a while to get the van away from us. Once we were free, Bella was strapped to a gurney. I didn't miss the daggers she was glaring at me.

At the hospital, I had Carlisle check on Bella. We saw a lot of scars from previous concussions. We both raised our eyebrows at that. Fortunately, there wasn't a new concussion.

Carlisle went into the room to talk to Bella. Once he was out, I slipped in. I sat on the bed next to hers.

"You okay?" I asked, for some reason wanting to hear it from her.

"You heard what your dad said," she answered, "I'm fine."

She got up to exit the room.

"Don't go out there just yet," I warned, "Carlisle is asking Esme out on a date."

A smile formed on her face and she answered, "I'm happy for her. Rose and Alice, too. They're so happy."

She said it wistfully so I asked, "And you're not?"

I was genuinely curious about this girl.

"I am, I guess," she answered.

_Not a very good answer_, I thought.

"That's good," I muttered, though.

It was silent for a few seconds. Bella broke it.

"Oh, Edward?" she asked.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Thanks for saving my life," she said.

And then she gave me this big and beautiful smile. This shocked me, and I really looked at her. She was, in fact, incredibly beautiful. I can't believe I thought she was plain the first time I saw her.

I wanted to say something witty but then Esme walked in, worriedly. I watched Bella as she reassured her mother. Then, I felt sad that she was going to leave. Before she exited the room, she turned to wave goodbye to me.

Once she was gone, I stayed in the room for a few minutes, thinking about her smile. It made my stomach feel all weird. But, that smile. I knew that, if my heart still beat, that it would have stopped when she gave me that smile.

I got out of the room and drove home in a daze. When I walked into the living room, Jazz and Em were on the couches.

"Whoa," Jasper said, "What's up with that?"

I knew he was talking about my feelings. I'd been thinking about Bella the whole drive home.

"Um…Bella?" I answered, turning it into a question, though saying her name made a thrill run through me.

"Whoa," Jasper said again, "You're… whoa."

I chuckled and Emmet looked at me.

"You look like you're in love," he announced and I looked at him quizzically.

"You've had a dreamy expression since you walked into the door, Jazz says you're 'whoa,' and you've been smiling like crazy since you said a certain girl's name," he explained.

I started. Me? In love with Bella? And the funny thing was, I could see myself falling for her. She was witty, strong, and definitely beautiful. Thinking about her made my non-beating heart do a flip.

"Whoa," Jasper said, "That is definitely close to love."

"Shut up," I muttered, though I was still thinking about Bella.

"So, Bella, huh?" Emmet asked, "Took ya long enough."

I rolled my eyes at him and spent the rest of the night thinking about my feelings for Bella.

Did I really love her? And if I did, would she return my feelings?

* * *

**Sorry.**

**Another AN.**

**The first chapter for my other story is up already.**

**The story is called We Are...**

**Please, check it out and keep reading Differences :]**

** -Jules  
**


	14. Remembering Sunday

**Sorry.**

**Quick AN.**

**I'm still encouraging you to read my other fanfic.**

**Also, I'm still encouraging you to review both of them. :]**

**And, I was thinking about what you guys would think if I did a quick chapter on the background of Bella's boyfriends, including Ian.**

**If you didn't know already, all of Bella's "past boyfriends" are based on some of my best guy friends and my boyfriend.**

**If you want the background on their characters and who they're based on and everything, tell me in a PM or review or something.**

** -Jules  
**

* * *

It was decided. I would be going on Alice's, Rose's, and Mom's triple date. Ugh. How much does that suck?

I sighed. And Edward was going to be there. Alone, just like I was. I could swear this was a set up. But I didn't really want to be set up with a vampire. I mean, I've found that Emmet, Jasper, Carlisle, and yes, even Edward were okay, but that didn't mean I trusted them completely.

I heaved another sigh. Their date was in about an hour and they were getting ready. Alice said something about a movie and then dinner.

Stupid Tyler with his stupid van. Esme only insisted that I go with them to make sure that I didn't somehow end up killing myself while they were out.

Okay, so she didn't say it like that, but she implied it. But she was just worried about me, and I knew it. I groaned. I didn't want to go out tonight. My head still hurt and I didn't want to sit through a two-hour movie and an even longer dinner. I wanted to stay home.

Mom insisted, though, and I had to give in. Fortunately, the movie was scary so I wouldn't have to worry about any mushy gushy romance stuff. Unfortunately, the pairs were going to split up inside the theatre to give each other privacy.

Knowing Alice and Rose, they would try their hardest to get Edward to sit next to me. I groaned again. Why? Why had I been cursed with such relentless sisters?

I chuckled quietly. I guess, after the years, my stubbornness rubbed off on them. I looked at the clock. It was presently 4:30. The vamps would be coming at around 5:30. Then, we'd drive into Port Angeles and see the movie, The Unborn, and then go to dinner.

I got up from my bed and ruffled through my clothes. I found a red long shirt (You know, the type of shirt that looks like a short dress) and the skinniest pair of skinny jeans I owned. I pulled on my skinny jeans, and they ended up looking like tights, and then my shirt.

My shirt had a plunging neckline but I had a black tank top under it. It hung on my shoulders by thin spaghetti straps. There were no sequins or beads on it whatsoever and it was a nice, light red color. I looked at myself in the mirror.

Then, I pulled on my converse. After all, this wasn't my date so I didn't have to dress nice. Then, I put on my makeup. I just put mascara, eyeliner, a bit of smoky eye shadow, a tiny amount of blush and then lip-gloss.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked fine. I glanced at the clock. It was almost 5:30 now. I lay back down on my bed and put a CD on. I was just staring at the ceiling when Alice burst in, scaring the hell out of me.

"What is it, Alice?" I asked.

"Just checking if you're ready," she answered.

"I am, so…" I shooed her with my hands.

"Come downstairs. The boys will be here in a few minutes," she said.

I groaned. Alice was about to lecture me but I waved her off and ran down the stairs. I plopped down onto the couch.

"Bells," Alice pleaded, "Please be good tonight."

"Don't worry," I said, "I won't ruin your dates."

"Well, thank you but I didn't mean that. I meant, have fun," she answered.

I shrugged and then the doorbell rang. Alice opened it and four vampires filed into the living room. I was staring up at the ceiling when Emmet pulled me from the couch and into the air by my arm.

"She looks alright to me," he boomed.

"Emmet!" I yelled, "Emmet, that hurts! Put me down! God, you frickin' bear of a vampire! Put me down!"

He put me down and I calmed down. My instincts had been screaming at me when he held me up from the floor. I'd been in a similar situation to that but it was on much worse terms with a bloodthirsty human-eating vampire.

My instincts still weren't accustomed to being around vampires. They still screamed at me to fight every last one. I shuddered at the thought of me losing control over my instincts and seriously injuring the Cullens, because, lord knows, I can do it.

I shuddered again. Jasper sensed what I was feeling but I shook my head at him when he tried to ask me what was wrong. I smiled at the boys and then ran upstairs because I forgot my iPod.

When I ran back down, all the couples were standing together. Alice and Jasper were holding hands, as were Rose and Emmet. Carlisle and Mom's arms were linked. I smiled at the sight. They looked so happy.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I tripped and lost my footing on the stairs. I expected to feel my face bounce off one of the stairs or something, but instead, my face fell gently into something cold and hard. I looked around and saw that Edward had caught me.

My instincts once again screamed at me to fight. I told them to shut up but they kept screaming. I pulled away from Edward hastily, afraid of what my instincts could do to him if I didn't keep a check on them.

I relied on my instincts every time I was in a fight with a vampire. Now, I'm beginning to think that I've been relying on them too much and for too long. I have no doubt that if I didn't keep my instincts under control, they'd force my muscles to fight and my muscles would obey.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"No problem," he said, sounding a little hurt.

I was going to try to tell him what was wrong but stopped myself. It was probably better this way. I pulled away from him and he stepped back. I walked passed him into the living room.

"I think we should get going now," I said, breaking up the googly-eyed stares.

Esme blushed a light red and Carlisle rubbed her hand comfortingly. Rose and Alice looked completely unabashed. I shook my head at them.

"Well," I announced, "I'm taking my motorcycle. You guys can figure out what cars you're bringing on your own."

I left them to talk it out. I walked out the door and to the garage. I grabbed a small towel and wiped my motorcycle down really quick.

When I was done, I found everyone at the entrance of the garage, staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

Everyone turned away. I saw Alice turn to the rest of them. She said something but I couldn't hear. I went back to examining my motorcycle.

I felt someone behind me. I looked up to see a very close Edward looking over my shoulder at my motorcycle.

"Jesus Chr- Can you make some sort of sound?" I asked angrily.

"Bella," he said, "You should know better than to tell a vampire to make noise when sneaking up on someone."

"So you _were_ sneaking up on me?" I questioned.

"Yes," he answered, "To see how you'd react."

I rolled my eyes and then I felt another presence behind me. I looked behind me to find Emmet closer to me than Edward was.

"Holy Je- Seriously, can you guys make some kind of noise so you don't give me a heart attack?" I complained.

I shook my head and kept looking at my motorcycle while telling my instincts to shut up.

"What are you doing, Bella?" a loud voice asked.

I jumped. It was Jasper

"Shi-!" I cursed, "God dammit, that is _it!_ I am buying all of you bells to wear around your necks like freaking cats."

I muttered incoherently under my breath while the vampires chuckled. After a few minutes, Alice announced that we had to go now. I threw a leg over my motorcycle. Jasper and Emmet went to their girlfriends. I saw that we were taking three cars, Alice's, Rose's, and Carlisle's.

Edward stood behind me while I put my sunglasses on. He looked pretty uncomfortable.

"What's up, Eddie?" I asked and he glared at me for calling him "Eddie" but I just stuck my tongue out at him.

"I'msupposedtoridewithyou," he muttered.

"What?" I asked, not able to hear him.

"I'm supposed toridewithyou," he said the last part too fast for me to hear.

"God, Eddie, just spit it out," I urged.

"I'm supposed to ride with you," he said.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Damn Alice, that stupid pixie. I knew this was a set-up.

"Get on," I told him.

"What, no helmet?" he asked.

"Like you need it," I argued.

"But, what would happen to me if I fell off?" he fake-pouted.

"You'd probably just get up and walk away, idiot," I answered.

"So sassy," he complained.

"So observant," I answered.

"Touché," he replied.

He got on behind me and placed his hands on my waist. My instincts were screaming at me again.

"Dammit, shut up," I muttered to them under my breath.

"What did I do?" Edward asked.

"It's not you, it's… ugh. Never mind," I answered.

"If you say so?" he said, turning into a question.

"Hold on," I told him as I pulled out of the garage.

I waited for the cars to get in a line behind me and then we were off, at almost 200 miles an hour.

"You drive this fast on a motorcycle?" Edward yelled over the wind.

"Of course," I answered.

He muttered something under his breath that I couldn't hear. I shrugged it off. The whole ride there, he kept his hands on my waist, just his hands and never his arms. He didn't hold onto me too tightly, also, for which I was glad.

We made it to Port Angeles in record time. We found the movie theatre easily. I slid into a parking spot and then hopped off. Edward did, too. We waited in uncomfortable silence for the others to meet us at the front of the theatre.

They didn't take too long, thank goodness. It took us a little longer for us to buy tickets and snacks because all of the cashiers were women who couldn't take their eyes off the vampires. And I swear, Rose and Alice looked like they were going to rip those poor girls' heads off every time they looked at Emmet and Jasper. It was hilarious.

Once inside the movie, every couple split up, leaving Edward and me standing in the walkway awkwardly. And suddenly, I had an idea. I smiled mischievously and Edward caught it.

"What are you thinking?" he asked slowly.

"Follow me," I answered.

I grabbed his hand gently and took him to the balcony upstairs, which barely anyone noticed. There were about four rows of red theatre seats, but no one but Edward and I were up here. It was the perfect spot for throwing stuff at people, and having a vampire to help me throw stuff just made things more interesting.

I pulled him to the middle of the first row. Once he sat down, I got up to look at our soon-to-be victims below us. I looked up at Edward and gave him a smile. He seemed stunned for about two seconds but then his own face broke into a crooked grin. He almost took my breath away.

But, I refused to be wooed. I looked back down at the slowly growing crowd and chuckled lowly. I turned around and walked back to Edward's side. I sat down and looked at Edward. He was studying me.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

"Nothing," he answered, but I thought differently.

I was curious but I shrugged. The previews began to roll and I was practically bouncing up and down in my chair in anticipation. Edward put a hand on my shoulder and I immediately stopped bouncing.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked, chuckling.

"I'm excited," I replied with a huge smile.

"And why is that?" he questioned.

"We're going to scare the hell out of the humans down there and get Alice and Rose pissed," I said, snickering.

He looked at me and chuckled.

"What?" I asked, self-conscious again.

"I don't get you," he answered.

I just shook my head and waited for the movie to start. Once the opening credits were done, I looked back down at the crowd. Some of them were already so scared they looked like they were going to pee on themselves. I chuckled evilly and Edward cocked an eyebrow at me.

"You'll see," I said.

I grabbed one of my six bags (Yes, six bags. I like my skittles) of skittles and opened it. I grabbed a yellow one and aimed for the one guy right below me. I threw it with all my strength and it hit him in the back of the neck.

His head snapped behind him to see if it was anybody there and I snickered. He looked up and so I quickly hid behind the low wall the boxed in the few rows of seats up here. Edward was looking at me amusedly.

"You should've seen his face," I said.

"I heard his thoughts. The poor guy is scared to death," he answered.

"That's the whole point, Eddie," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.

He gave me a crooked smile and then joined me in my crouch behind the wall. I looked back down at the crowd to find my next victim, when a scary part in the movie happened. I didn't know what was going on so, when I saw it, I jumped and let out a small shriek, accidentally leaning into Edward.

He chuckled into my ear and I jumped away from him.

"Sorry," I said, blushing.

"It's okay," he replied.

"Found one!" I exclaimed.

But my victims were too far for my strength. I turned to Edward.

"Wanna try?" I asked childishly.

He gave me a full smile, showing me all of his teeth. I wasn't ready for how my instincts were going to react. I couldn't even understand what happened at first. Just, suddenly, I was on top of Edward and punching him in the chest.

He growled at me very loudly and I looked at him in the eye. We both seemed to realize what was happening at the same time, because as I jumped up and away from him, he was suddenly at the far end of the balcony.

_Shit, shit, shit!_ I thought and suddenly, Emmet, Jasper, and Carlisle were on the balcony next to Edward. I heard clamoring footsteps up the stairs and Rose, Alice, and Esme were by my side in a second.

Rose, Alice, and Esme looked completely confused, as did Emmet, Jasper, and Carlisle. I saw the three couple's eyes meet and watched their hardened expressions soften a bit as they looked at their other.

I'd ruined it for them. _Shit, shit, shit!_ I thought. I unthinkingly backed up and didn't feel the low wall until it was too late.

I'd accidentally backed up too far and ended up toppling over the wall. As I fell to the floor, I heard several people call my name, but my eyes locked with only one person. Edward. And his face was the perfect picture of shock and pain.

I'd done that to him, too. I closed my eyes. Then, a sharp pain laced through my skull and everything went black.


	15. All Over You

**Hehe.**

**Lots of cussing and cuts-offs in this one.**

**Er... please review.**

**Please read my other fanfic. **

**And er... yeah!**

**Lol.**

**Love you guys!**

** -Jules  
**

* * *

I woke up with a pounding headache. I rolled over and fell onto the floor. It was cold and hard

"Son of a-" I cursed, but was cut off by a booming laugh.

"Can't seem to stay off me, eh, Bells?" Emmet laughed.

I looked around to find that I was, indeed, on top of Emmet. He'd been lying down on the floor when I rolled over and fell, just like the first night he'd stayed over. I quickly stood up, and the room spun again.

"Dammit!" I cursed, "I hate it when that happens."

I fell back weakly onto my bed and landed on someone's butt.

"Bella," Rose complained sleepily, "Get your head off my a-" She broke off suddenly, "Bella?"

"Yep, the one and only," I said.

"You're awake," she squealed.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Uh… seriously, can you get off my butt?" she asked.

"Nah," I answered, "Too comfortable."

She wiggled her butt so that I rolled onto Alice. The girl didn't even budge.

"Ah," I said, "Thank you Alice."

Then, she started to wiggle a bit and shriek into the bed.

"Can anybody understand what she's saying?" I asked, sleepily.

"I think she's saying that she's suffocating," Emmet said.

I groaned and then rolled off Alice onto a person-free spot on my bed. I heard Alice take lungful after lungful of air. I couldn't help but giggle lowly.

"You little-!" Alice screamed but was cut off by my door opening to reveal Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Edward.

I was still chuckling quietly. I groaned and then rolled onto my stomach. I yawned and Alice kept nudging me with her foot to wake me.

"Go away, stupid pixie," I complained.

"That's what you get for almost killing me!" she yelled.

"Oh, please," I argued, "You can hold your breath underwater for ten minutes straight."

"Yeah, but water doesn't way 110 pounds."

I groaned into my pillow and then rolled over. I ended up falling off the bed again, hitting my head.

"Ooh, Jesus, that hurt," I complained rubbing my head, "What happened last night? Why do I feel like I'm hungover?"

Then, all of last night rushed back to me.

"Oh," I said, "Ouch."

Everyone laughed at my expense.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said, "Laugh it up, laugh it up."

I got up unsteadily.

"Where are you going?" Edward asked worriedly.

"To the bathroom. Why? Wanna join me or something?" I asked.

Emmet whooped and Rose, Alice, Jasper, and Carlisle laughed. Esme looked like she wanted to scold me while Edward looked embarrassed.

I kissed Mom on the cheek and mumbled a greeting to Carlisle and Edward before practically sprinting towards the bathroom. I felt like my bladder was going to burst.

I decided to take a quick shower, because I felt all icky. Once I climbed out, I realized that I forgot to bring clothes with me. I shrugged, hoping that everyone moved out of my room.

I wrapped myself in a fluffy towel and made my way towards my room. When I walked in, everyone, and I mean everyone, turned to me.

"Take a picture, boys," I said, "It lasts longer."

Edward and Jasper looked uncomfortable. Emmet just boomed a laugh and Carlisle was undeterred since he was a doctor. I walked to my closet and almost bent down to grab my stuff but felt eyes on my back. I turned around to see the vampires, excluding Carlisle, watching me.

"Do you mind?" I asked.

They looked away quickly and I chuckled and shook my head. I grabbed my clothes and then jogged back to the bathroom. I dried myself off and then pulled my clothes in. I walked back to my room to find everyone still there.

I sighed and lay back down on my bed, where Alice and Rose still lounged. There was tension in the air. I saw Edward in the farthest corner of the room. It was absolutely silent.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into the silence, "I… I didn't mean to lunge at Edward like that at the movie theatre. It' s just… my… instincts are a bit hard for me to… control. I'm not used to vampires just yet."

Edward breathed a shaky life.

"You're having problems with _your_ instincts?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes," I admitted, "Every time any of you get too close to me, I have to fight the urge to… to rip you apart and burn the pieces. You honestly have no clue."

This seemed to shut everyone up. I sighed. I closed my eyed and then, suddenly, I was on my feet being dragged towards the door. I looked up to find Edward dragging me by my hand out of my room, down the stairs and out of the front door.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked angrily.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

"About what?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"Get where?"

"You'll see."

Then, he pulled me onto his back and we were off, running through the woods. I had no clue where he was taking me and I had to admit, I was a little scared. All the trees were passing us in a blur. He sped up after about a minute of running, and I felt like I was sticking my head out of a plane.

After a few more minutes of running, we reached a meadow. It was beautiful. Edward set me down just at the edge of the clearing. The sun was shining here. I walked into the meadow, wanting to feel the warmth of the sun.

Edward didn't follow me and I sank into the grass. I looked up to see that Edward hadn't followed me yet. He was still in the shadows of the trees.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"Idiot, if you're worried about scaring me or anything, I already know what happens when you walk into the sun," I said, joking.

He walked into the field and my instincts flared once more as the sun hit his skin. It shone like a thousand diamonds. The sight of it made my instincts scream bloody murder.

He must have noticed how my muscles locked in place because he hesitated a few feet from me. I saw him make a decision. He sat down next to me and lay down. We stared at each other for a moment.

I saw this his eyes were almost black. We were silent, just studying each other. He was a god, of course. But, my heart seemed to flutter a little in my chest. It was a little hard to notice that, though, because my instincts were still telling me that this was wrong.

"You're struggling too," I stated, seeing indecision in Edward's eyes.

"You have no idea," he answered.

"Are you always this horrible at control?" I asked teasingly.

"No," he replied, "I'm usually the best at it. It's just… your blood… your scent… it's so tempting."

"Hey," I said, "My attitude is part of the package."

I grinned at him, though the uneasiness I was feeling was stifling.

"Yes, but as I was saying, you have no clue. You're like my personal brand of heroin," he said.

I laughed. "People tend to compare me to drugs a lot," I teased.

Then, I started feeling a little nervous, but only because Edward looked nervous.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I… have something to tell you," he said hesitantly.

"What's up?" I asked, "You seem so nervous. It's unsettling."

"I… I don't know how to put it."

"Fine. Give it to me in a riddle or a metaphor or something."

"What would you say if… a lion fell in love with a lamb?"

"I'd say the lamb was stupid."

"But, what if the lion was sick and masochistic?"

"Edward, what are you getting at?" I asked and then it clicked.

Edward. A vampire. Loved. Me. What? I had to flip through the conversation in my head a few times before I gave up.

"You… love… me?" I asked.

"You are my life now."

"But… Edward. The lamb… is crippled. The lamb is freaking crippled!" I yelled.

"The lion doesn't care."

"The lamb is missing all four legs and is horribly disfigured!"

"The lion couldn't care less."

I took his face in my hands.

"The lamb can't love the lion, just now. The lamb just got over something terribly painful and the hole in its chest has just disappeared. The lamb doesn't know if she can love anybody just yet. It's too soon. And yeah, the lamb feels guilty as hell."

"I'll wait for you. I'll wait no matter how long it takes."

"Edward," I groaned. I held his face tighter in my hands. I looked him in the eyes. "I might not be able to love again and if I can, it might take me a while. The pain is gone but… my heart isn't used to all this. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, so very sorry."

I got up and ran into the forest, not looking back for fear of meeting his eyes.

**EPOV**

And that's when I knew. I knew I couldn't live without her the moment she began to fall off the ledge of the balcony.

I had to tell her. I knew I had to tell her when she announced that she was struggling with her instincts, just as I was.

I took her to my meadow. I watched as she walked into the sun and fell back into the grass. I hesitated in the shadows because I wasn't sure if I should do this. She teased me, that annoyingly hot way she always teased me in.

At first, I didn't know how to get it out. She told me to use a metaphor or something, so I used the first thing that came to mind.

"What would you say… if I told you a lion fell in love with a lamb?" I asked.

"I'd say the lamb was stupid," she replied.

"But, what if the lion was sick and masochistic?"

"Edward, what are you getting at?" she asked.

I swear, I saw and heard it click in her head. She looked confused and I waited for a few moments more for her to respond.

"You… love… me?" she asked.

"You are my life now."

"But… Edward. The lamb… is crippled. The lamb is freaking crippled!"

"The lion doesn't care," I answered.

"The lamb is missing all four legs and is horribly disfigured!"

"The lion couldn't care less," I replied and it was the truth.

She took my face in her hands.

"The lamb can't love the lion, just now. The lamb just got over something terribly painful and the hole in its chest has just disappeared. The lamb doesn't know if she can love anybody just yet. It's too soon. And yeah, the lamb feels guilty as hell."

"I'll wait for you. I'll wait no matter how long it takes." I didn't doubt my words. I'd been waiting so long for her. I wasn't going to give her up now.

"Edward," she groaned, holding my face in her hands, and looking into my eyes, "I might not be able to love again and if I can, it might take me a while. The pain is gone but… my heart isn't used to all this. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

She got up, turned around and ran into the forest. I stayed in the meadow, thinking about what just happened.

There was no doubt that I loved Bella. She was so… infuriatingly beautiful. She drove me crazy with her quick wit and sharp tongue, the way she would tease me and how she would tell everyone she was okay when she wasn't. The way she was so strong, emotionally and physically. The way her blood drew her to me. The way her body drew her to me. The way she was totally selfless.

I was caught like a moth to a flame. I was in far too deep to turn back now. I truly loved Bella with all my heart.

I wasn't hurt by her words. I was fully aware of what she went through in her life, and I was fully aware that she might not be able to open her heart completely to me. But I would not let her go. I would never let her go. After all, I'd waited too long for her.

But I couldn't ignore the nagging thought that whispered to me. Would the crippled lamb ever be able to love the lion?


	16. Think Of You Later

**Hehe. This chapter is definitely one of the shorter ones, but it's pretty big plot-wise. :]**

**Please review and please don't hate me for leaving the story here.**

**And yes, it is a cliffie.**

**Just a warning! ;]**

** -Jules  
**

* * *

I, eventually, made it back to the house. The sun had already set, though. When I walked into the house, Alice and Rose immediately bombarded me with questions.

"What happened? Where is he? Did he do anything to you?" Alice babbled

"Did he touch you? What did you guys talk about? Are you guys together?" Rose asked.

I ignored them and made my way to my room in a dazed state. They followed me, still asking questions so fast that I couldn't even understand some of them. I walked into my room. I sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. I saw Alice and Rose share a look, before doing the same.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked quietly.

"He told me he loved me," I answered just as softly.

"And you said…?" Rose prompted.

"I told him I might not be able to love him back," I replied.

"Why?" Alice demanded.

"Because it's the truth!" I exploded.

Alice flinched at the volume in my voice. Rose was looked at me worriedly.

"I'm sorry, it's just… I don't know what to do about him," I said quietly.

"Why do you think you may not be able to love him back? He's a great guy," Alice said, "And he's talented and he loves you for who you are, even after seeing all your weaknesses and flaws. Besides, I see you falling for him soon, too."

"Alice," I sighed, "It's too soon. I've barely just gotten over Ian. As I told Edward, 'The pain may be gone but my heart isn't used to this.' And if you see me falling for him soon, it's probably just because I trip over a rock or something else… like _my foot_."

"Oh, shut up with the snarky remarks," Rose complained, "You just need to learn how to let people in. That's probably something you've forgotten over the years, ya old bat."

"Oh, shut up!" I said, "At least I look 16 and not 18!"

"Bella," Rose warned, "You did not go there."

"Oh, but I did, Rosie, I did," I answered.

"Girls, girls, girls! Retract the claws!" Alice commanded.

This made us all burst into laughter.

"Don't look at me, Alice. Rose is the one with those perfectly manicured nails that only _old bats_ have," I said.

"That is it," Rose said, "Alice, hold my shit, hold my shit."

Rose started taking off her earrings but I stopped her with gestures. It was a few minutes before I could speak.

"No," I gasped, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

I continued to laugh and so did Alice. Eventually, Rose joined us. When we were done, we lay down in silence and stared up at the ceiling. It was quiet and boring. Struck with an idea, I suddenly stood up and ran to my CD player. I put a Mgmt CD on and Alice and Rose gasped.

"I love this band!" Alice squealed.

"Their music sounds like it was made for clubbing," Rose added.

I laughed and started dancing. I danced up to Rose and twirled her in a circle. I did the same for Alice and then all of us were dancing and laughing, forgetting all of our troubles.

We danced like this, and I admit I tripped once or twice… fine, more than six times (You happy?), until the CD was over. We fell back on my bed, exhausted and that's when we noticed the three vampires standing in the threshold of my room.

We looked at them. Their faces were hysterical. Edward, Jasper, and Emmet's faces were all a mix of shock, adoration, and amusement. Alice, Rose, and I just laughed harder. When we were done, we were out of breath.

"Way to change the subject, Bella," Alice said.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"No, really," Rose said, "No idea how the subject got from your love life to dancing like idiots."

I laughed. "It's a gift," I answered.

The boys were silent. I sighed. Then, I heard Alice gasp. No doubt, she was having a vision. Jasper was instantly at her side. I raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything.

"Cool," Edward suddenly said, "There's going to be a thunderstorm tonight. Who's up for some vampire baseball?"

"Eddie," I said in a teasingly scolding tone, "You know that there are only four vampires and the other four are vamp hunters, don't you?"

"So?" Emmet joked, "That just means we'll have to hit harder."

"That's exactly what I meant," I said.

Everybody laughed at that.

"So, are you guys up for it?" Emmet asked excitedly.

"I'm in," Alice said.

"Me too," Rose agreed.

"Yeah, I'm up for it," I said.

"Good," Alice said, "Carlisle and Esme will want to play too. This'll be fun!"

Everyone chuckled.

* * *

A few hours later, we were at a clearing in the woods, warming up. All of us were wearing baseball uniforms that Alice had magically conjured up out of thin air. I was stretching and practicing my form with the metal bat when Alice suddenly announced it was time. Thunder filled the air.

The teams were Vampires against Vampire Hunters and boys against girls. I was first to bat. Edward was pitching. As a small surprise, I brought out a big boom box that could be heard from all the way in the outfield. I put a high tempo and upbeat CD in and pushed play.

I got in position. Edward pitched the ball and I easily hit it. I managed to score a double. Rose was next. Edward pitched and Rose managed to hit a homerun. We ran around and then it was Esme's turn.

Esme struck out. Alice scored us another homerun. Then, Rose went again. She struck out this time, too. We switched positions.

Alice pitched this time and Carlisle was first to bat. He sent it flying into the trees. I put my hands on my hips.

"Hey!" I complained, "No fair! You're using vampire strength. I thought we decided human limitations."

Emmet was going to say something when both Alice and Edward gave small gasps. I looked at Alice. She was having a vision. Jasper was immediately at her side and everyone walked quickly to her. Emmet put his arms around Rose. Edward put a protective and restraining hand on my shoulder.

Alice and Edward seemed nervous. No doubt something in her vision, but I mean, how bad could it be?

"What's up?" I asked.

"Nomads," Alice hissed.

I hissed, too. "Nomads as in…Human drinking nomadic vampires?"

"Yes," Edward answered curtly.

"How many?" Rose questioned.

"Four," Alice answered.

"How far away?" Esme asked.

"Two minutes," Edward replied.

"We don't know them, do we?" I asked.

Both Alice and Edward hesitated. I was going to call them out on it when we saw four forms appear at the opposite side of the forest. The four of them walked towards us at human pace. I was instantly on high alert. Nomads were the most dangerous kind of vampire.

I took my time studying the coven. The first male, the leader I thought, was tall and dark-haired. The second male was lankier and light haired. The female had fiery red hair and was skinny and much like a cat. The last male vampire was someone I did know.

I instantly recognized the black hair, angular jaw and full lips. He still looked the same since the last time I saw him over 30 years ago. The only difference was that his eyes were now a crimson red. My breath hitched in my throat and my knees gave out beneath me. I would have fallen to the ground if Edward had not caught me and pulled me to his side.

I couldn't react to Edward, though. My eyes were locked on the fourth vampire. My heart was screaming for him and the only thought that ran through my mind was, _No, no, no!_ I vaguely registered the coven's leader talking to Carlisle. I kept my gaze on the last vampire.

He, too, kept his gaze trained on me. I thought I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but it was gone the next time I looked. Not waiting for a break in the leaders' conversation, I spoke when I finally found my voice.

"Ian?" I asked incredulously.

"Ah," Ian, the fourth vampire, replied, "Bella. I never thought I'd see you again, much less see you _here_."


	17. AN

**So, quick AN.**

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	18. Speakers Blown

**Pretty short chapter this time.**

**Sorry.**

**I've been tired and busy, so yeah.**

**I skip around a lot in this chapter.**

**I skip a lot of details and I flit from emotion to emotion.**

**It's a little crazy, I guess.**

**I don't think it's as well written as usual, but it's only because I didn't have time to go through it and everything.**

**If you have questions, ask away.**

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** -Jules  
**

* * *

I literally choked on air. I just couldn't breathe.  
_Ian_! My beloved Ian… was a vampire, a human-blood drinking vampire… Even though my instincts were telling me to attack, I just wanted to run into his arms.

"I guess I really was hallucinating," I muttered.

Edward still had his arms around my waist, keeping me at his side. Ian was looking at me curiously. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"Bella," Edward whispered urgently, "Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine… but, is that really Ian?" I answered.

He sighed heavily.

"Yes," he replied, "He remembers you a little, but not enough to recognize who you are."

My heart beat unevenly. He didn't remember me. I went limp in Edward's arms. He pulled me bridal style into his arms. I put my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest.

I breathed in his scent and, for some reason, this made my heart beat even more unevenly. I felt something touch my hair… his lips? Then, I felt his mouth at my ear.

"You also weren't hallucinating that one time," he said, "In the forest, that was Ian as a vampire, as he is now. He doesn't know why he did it but he felt an overwhelming urge to say it wasn't your fault. He doesn't know why he did it."

I breathed a sigh of relief but instead of relaxing my death grip on Edward, I tightened it. He chuckled in my ear.

"He doesn't remember anything from his human life, but something about you makes him want to remember," Edward finished.

He held me to his chest and I breathed in his scent again.

"You keep interesting company, I see," one of the nomad vampires said, whose name I think was Laurent.

"Vampire hunters, if I'm not mistaken," another said, I think this nomad's name was James.

"Yes," I said, turning my head to look at the nomadic vampires.

"You don't mind being that close to a vampire?" Ian asked.

"Not this one," I answered curtly.

I heard a low chuckle and looked up to see Edward trying to hide his beaming smile. I rolled my eyes at him and smacked his chest playfully.

"All of you seem pretty… friendly…with each other," Laurent said, "How is that possible?"

"You'd be surprised at what happens when differences are put aside," Esme answered coolly.

She boldly held Carlisle's hand in hers. I saw them share a look of complete and utter love. I looked to Rose and Emmet. They, too, were holding hands and looking into each other's eyes, as were Alice and Jasper. I smiled at them but then looked up to Edward. He was looking down at me with a small frown on his face.

He looked so adorable then. I smiled up at him and he returned my smile. In his eyes, I saw the love his heart held for me and my heart stopped for a second before jumping into overtime. He kissed my forehead and I blushed.

Suddenly, Edward growled and crouched with me in his arms. He was staring at the vampire named James. Carlisle, Emmet, and Jasper quickly copied Edward's stance. The rest of the nomadic coven did so too.

I pulled out of Edward's arms to stand in front of him. I put my hands on my hips. I crouched a little too and I knew Rose, Esme, and Alice would follow my lead.

"I think you should go," I said sternly.

James hissed at me and bared his teeth. I stepped forward, jaw clenched. I hissed back at him. He glared at me and I glared back, daring him to do something he'd regret. My stubborn temper that made me known as a vampire hunter was back and with a vengeance.

Laurent stepped in front of me, baring his teeth also. I guess Edward finally had enough. He took a step and then grabbed me by my waist. He pulled me to his side and went back to his crouch. I glared up at him.

"Miss Swan," he joked tensely under his breath, "You are positively frightening."

"I don't think now is the best time to be talking about my intimidation skills," I hissed back.

He pressed his lips to my neck and I jumped in surprise. He chuckled into my ear.

"We'll be taking our leave now," Laurent said, backing up.

His coven followed him.

"It seems that we are not welcome at the moment," Laurent continued, "We offer our apologies and hope by the next time we run into you, you will have forgiven us."

"Goodbye, Laurent," Carlisle said politely.

We watched in tense silence as the coven backed up to the edge of the clearing. Once they were there, they turned around and quickly disappeared into the trees. Even so, I didn't miss the menacing look James gave me and the quizzical look Ian gave me.

I waited for Edward's muscles to relax. Once they did, I relaxed too. Edward suddenly hugged me to his chest.

"You have no idea how close you were to getting bitten by one of those vampires," he said.

"Please," I argued, "_I_ would have been the one to kick their asses."

"My, my," Edward said, "What confidence, eh? You shouldn't be so-"

He suddenly broke off and his head whipped up. He hissed something too low for me to hear. He suddenly picked me up into his arms, bridal style again. He ran me to the end of the clearing, opposite from where the nomads escaped.

"What's happening?" I asked frantically.

"James," he hissed, "He's a tracker."

"Shit!" I yelled, "Who does he want? Esme? Rose? Alice?"

"No," Edward whispered brokenly.

"You or one of the other boys?" I asked, confused.

"No," he whispered again.

"Who?" I demanded.

"You," he answered.

I momentarily froze and then laughed. Edward looked at me, bewildered. He was now leading me through the forest, my hand in his. I was sure that Emmet, Rose, Jasper, Alice, Carlisle, and Esme were following behind us.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked angrily, "You think you can take down a tracker?"

"I'm not laughing about that, though I have to say that I've taken down fourteen trackers to be exact," I answered, "I'm laughing because it doesn't really matter if it's me he's after."

"Why not?" Edward demanded.

"Well, Alice, Rose, and Esme have Jasper, Emmet, and Carlisle to help them through my death, that is if I even die," I answered matter-of-factly.

"Who would comfort _me_, Bella?" Edward asked quietly.

"You wouldn't miss me," I answered, shaking my head, "You'd just move on."

"Do I have to spell it out for you Bella?" he questioned incredulously.

"Er… maybe?" I replied, turning it into a question.

"I can't live without you," he said, "So I will not let him get to you, got it?"

"Edward…" I said, trying to stop him.

He suddenly turned around, grabbed my waist and pulled me to him, and then kissed me on the lips. His lips were cold and hard but oddly soothing. We both were very unprepared for my reaction.

I opened my mouth, trying to open his in the process. I managed and breathed in his scent. Edward pulled back and stared at me, astonished. I blushed and looked away. He held my chin in his hands.

"I… Edward, I… I-" I tried to say but he cut me off.

"Bella, you don't have to reply to me when I say I love you. I love you and I want you to know that, but I also don't want you to be scared or weirded out by me or something. You don't have to say anything, just promise me you'll think about, you know…" he trailed off nervously.

I chuckled quietly. Seeing Edward nervous was hilarious.

"Edward, thank you," I said sincerely.

He looked up and smiled crookedly at me. This time, it actually took my breath away. I looked away quickly, blushing. He suddenly tensed.

"We need to get you out of here," he said.

"Where would I go?" I asked.

"_We_," he said stressing the word, "are going to… Phoenix."

"Why Phoenix?"

"It's sunny, so he won't suspect."

"I'd rather not drag you into this…"

"Too late," he murmured, "This was bound to happen the moment you walked into the Biology classroom."

"You mean to tell me that you knew a tracker would spontaneously show up and track me?" I asked.

"You know what I mean, Miss Swan. I was bound to fall for you. And, well, you being you, danger was bound to find you in some form or another…"

I sighed and nodded.

"Come on," he said tensely again, "We need to start moving. He's not going to give up. He likes a challenge and I'm not going to risk your safety. Come on."

He grabbed my hand and dragged me farther into the forest. We found his car and we sped off to quickly pack for Phoenix.

I was worried, but not about James, not really. He hadn't seemed that dangerous. I was worried about being in Phoenix alone with Edward…

Well, what did I have to worry about? What could possible happen during the time it took for James to get over his obsession with me? Nothing too drastic or anything, right?

Wrong…


	19. Empty Room

We were in a hotel in Phoenix, lying on the king bed with ugly patterned stiff sheets, doing nothing but staring at the ceiling. Edward was lying next to me silently. It was silent between us. And it wasn't one of the good silences. It was an awkward one.

Edward and I had arrived at Phoenix just an hour earlier. I was exhausted but couldn't go to sleep, not with knowing that Edward and I were alone in a hotel.

Well, it's not like I like-like him. It's just hard to ignore the fact that he's so… _hot_. Ugh. I actually found it hilarious that my teenage hormones were still raging after all these years of adolescence.

But, seriously. It was so quiet. Edward hadn't even thought to put the radio or TV on. I sighed and turned on my side, trying to get into a more comfortable position. I ended up meeting Edward's intense gaze. We stared at each other for a few minutes.

"God," I said, turning my face into the comforter, "Stop staring at me, you're making me feel self-conscious."

"Silly Bella," was how Edward answered.

I slowly felt my eyes drift close. I was really tired. The car ride was silent and tense. The parting with our family was even worse. I was so worried about Alice, Rose, and Esme. Not to mention the boys. Ugh.

I groaned into the comforter again. Edward chuckled.

"Worried?" he questioned.

"You have no idea," I answered, speaking into the comforter.

"You'll be all right," he answered.

"Idiot," I answered, "I'm not worried about myself. I'm worrying about everyone back home."

"They'll be fine too," he replied, sounding exasperated, "You need to worry about yourself, Bella."

"I can handle myself," I responded, grumbling.

"Of course you can, Bella," he said softly.

I grunted into the comforter and felt my eyelids drifting closed.

"Sleep, love," Edward said quietly.

I groaned into the stiff sheets just before I fell into the dark abyss of sleep.

***********************************************************

I dreamt vividly. Images of a red-eyed Ian bent over lifeless bodies, blood dripping down his chin, images of James running after me and me running in a very long hallway that never ended, images of Edward flitting at the edges of my vision and I was trying to catch up to him, images of Alice, Rose, and Esme lying on the ground, blood everywhere, staring unseeing at the black sky.

The last image, for some reason, got under my skin the most. It was an image of Edward torn to pieces in a heap. His golden eyes were staring blankly at me and his mouth was open in an _O_ of pain.

************************************************************

I sat up straight and opened my mouth to yell. My throat was too dry and constricted to yell, though, so instead of a shout, I whispered, "Edward."

He was at my side in a flash. He put his arms around me instantly, pulling me into a hug. I squeezed him for dear life. He chuckled and I pulled away from him to glare at him.

"What's funny?" I demanded.

"It's just that… you _hurt_," he answered, chuckling.

I realized that he was talking about how hard I'd been squeezing him. I chuckled a little too, but stopped when I remembered my nightmare. I shuddered.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked.

"Fine," I replied curtly.

"You sure?" he prodded.

"Positive," I responded.

It was quiet again, too quiet for my liking.

"Let's play a game," I suggested.

"What game?"

"Twenty questions?"

"Sure."

"I'm first."

"Go for it."

"Okay, Edward," I said, "Where were you born?"

"Chicago," he answered, "What's your favorite color?"

"It changes from day to day. Yours?"

"I don't really have one."

… and it went on. Eventually, twenty questions turned into forty, and then eighty, and then I kind of lost count. We were just telling each other about our lives. It was oddly… pleasant.

We also told each other embarrassing stories about our siblings and ourselves. I was actually having an honest to god great time. Edward and I laughed a lot. We spent hours just talking but we were interrupted when my stomach growled loudly. Edward laughed.

"I'll order room service for you," he said, getting up from the bed, "You can go take a shower and stuff so you have something to do until your food gets hear."

"Thanks, Edward," I said, walking into the bathroom.

"No problem, Bella," he answered.

For some reason, when he said my name, a thrill ran through me. I shook it off though. I took a quick shower, loving the feel of the water loosening my muscles. After a few minutes, I stepped out of the shower and toweled off. I quickly put on some sweats and a tank top and stepped out of the bathroom.

I walked into the corner where the table was and turned the TV on. I flipped through channels, settling on a horror movie that was playing on Sci-Fi. I drummed my fingers on the table, wondering where Edward was.

As soon as the thought finished in my head, Edward was by my side with a big bottle of Brisk in his hand. He caught my fingers with his hand with a cocked eyebrow.

"Thank you," I said, reaching out for the bottle.

"What makes you think it's for you?" he asked teasingly, pulling the bottle out of my reach.

I gave him a look that screamed, "Seriously?!" He chuckled and handed me the bottle. I took an eager sip. He went to go sit down on the bed and we both began to watch the movie.

A few minutes later, the bell rang. My food was here! I was eager to eat so I stood up and practically ran to the door. I opened it to find a man in his thirties looking up and down at me with a smirk on his face.

I saw that cart of food next to him. I smelled the food from here and my mouth watered. I turned back to the guy who was now looking at my face as if I were some kind of meat. Edward was immediately at my side, glaring at the man.

He put his hand around my waist and pulled me into his side. The worker seemed disappointed, but he was still staring at me like I was a rib eye.

I heard a low growl rumble in Edward's chest. I put a hand on his arm to calm him down. His jaw clenched but he relaxed a little bit.

"May we have our food please?" he asked, still being a gentleman though I could tell he wanted to rip this guy's head off.

"Sure, thing," he said.

He took trays off the cart and handed them to Edward. Edward let go of all of me to take all of them. He was also about to slam the door in his face but couldn't since the guy had stuck out his arm to touch my own. He was caressing my arm from shoulder to wrist.

"Call me," he said, trying to be seductive, "If you need anything else."

I tried not to gag and gave him a curt nod before promptly slamming the door in his face. Shaking my head, I grabbed the plates of food from Edward and walked back to the table in the corner of the room. I set the food down and began to chow down. Edward chuckled.

"What?" I asked, my mouth full of pasta.

"You're not like other girls," he answered.

"Well, not too many girls are ex-vampire hunters."

"Ex-vampire hunter?"

"Yes," I answered, confused.

"You gave up vampire hunting?"

"Idiot, I thought you'd have figure that out by now. Of course, the agency wasn't too thrilled about us quitting, but they didn't give us too much trouble about it. Still, all the rules of concealing the secret apply to us but it's not like we were going to announce the existence of vampires and vampire hunters anyway," I answered.

"Why did you quit?"

"Why do you think?"

"Because you befriended the enemy?"

"Partly," I admitted, "But, there's also the fact that we've gotten over what had been driving us to keep avenging the deaths of our loved ones. Actually, I'm pretty sure Esme, Rose, and Alice got over it a long time before I finally got over the deaths. They'd just been waiting for me."

"Well, I'm glad you gave it up. Though, it would have been nice to have some of your vampire hunting buddies to help with the James problem," Edward said, "The way his mind works is creepy… When he saw you, it was almost like he recognized you, but he didn't dwell on the thought too long. He smelled your scent and the sense of recognition grew. Then, he began thinking of ways to kill you, to lure you out and drain you of your blood…"

"James…" I said, and the name tickled my memory.

I saw him in my head as I'd seen him in the meadow. I focused on his features. The sense of knowing him grew until I knew where I'd seen him before. I gasped out loud and brought my fist down on the table with enough force to almost break it.

How could I have not known it was _him_ in the meadow? Was I _that_ preoccupied with Ian to not recognize _him?_ Why? Why'd he come back? Why did he want me when he'd practically taken everything away from me already? Why did he come back?!

I must have started to hyperventilate unintentionally because Edward put a hand on my back and repeatedly told me to breathe. I calmed a little under his touch and took a deep, deep breath. I let it gust out.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked.

"I don't know," I answered, "How would you feel if you found out that the vampire who killed your father and took away most of your and your family's mortality still wasn't satisfied with the things he took from you?"

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked, obviously confused.

"James," I growled, "James was the vampire who first attacked my father, setting off the frenzy so many years ago. James was the vampire who _killed my father._ James was the one who made Esme, Rose, and Alice lose most of their mortality. James was the vampire that set off the attack that almost _killed_ Esme, Rose, and Alice."

To say that I was pissed was a definite understatement. I was _seething_. I wanted to punch something so…freaking…hard… I took a ragged breath and settled for clutching onto the table with all the strength I had.

"Bella," Edward said, "Bella, calm down. Come on, love. It's okay. Let go of the table."

I pried my fingers from the wood and clutched onto Edward's arm instead. He winced in pain as I squeezed it from the anger I was feeling. He cursed under his breath.

"You're hurting me Bella," Edward said, chuckling slightly.

"Sorry," I breathed, "Really pissed off. I need to get rid of the rage somehow instead of going on a rampage."

"Okay, okay," Edward said.

I squeezed his arm for a few more minutes before finally letting go with another ragged breath. Edward, too, breathed a sigh of relief. He flexed his arm a bit.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"It's okay," he answered, "I didn't think you were that strong."

I blushed.

"Sorry," I said again, louder this time.

"Don't worry about it," he answered, still chuckling.

But then his expression darkened and mine did too as we both remembered what had triggered my anger. I fought to keep my emotions in check.

"Damn that James," Edward said.

Suddenly, Edward's cell phone rang. It was in his hand in a flash.

"What?" he barked.

"Oh, Alice," he breathed.

"So, it's safe for her to come back home?" he asked.

"Great. We'll be back home in a few days then," he said and hung up.

He turned to me and gave me a very big smile that made me return my own smile, though I didn't know why.

"We can go home in about four days, but until then, we're stuck together."

"Oh," I said but I could only form one complete thought in my head.

_I'm going to share a hotel room with Edward Cullen for four whole days._

Ugh. Kill me, now.

Wait. I should be careful what I wish for, shouldn't I?


	20. Hands Down

Two days. Two freaking days. _Two freaking long, excruciating days_.

I had to survive two more days of watching boring television and resisting the urge to jump that damn Edward Cullen.

Okay, so I have to admit now that I might have the ittiest bittiest crush on him, but could you blame me? I mean, he was gorgeous, but he was smart, caring, kind, and he loved me for me.

Ugh. Even though I might have a crush on him, I detest him at the moment. He _has_ to know what he does to me every time he gives me his crooked smile. He _has_ to know what he does to me when he breathes onto my neck out of nowhere. He just _has_ to freaking know what he does to me when he changes his damn shirt in front of me.

Jeesh. It was at times like these that I really hated aging slowly. I mean, I couldn't wait to get out of my horribly insane hormone-controlled teenage phase. It wasn't fun.

Currently, Edward and I were lying down on the bed (Of course I was as far away from him as the bed allowed), watching another sci-fi horror movie.

At this point in time, I was both antsy and slaphappy from being cooped up in the hotel for too long. So, at the part where the main character and her boyfriend saw a door that lead to the way out and looked back to the creepy haunted mansion and chose to check out the creepy haunted mansion, I said what came to my mind.

"Why does no one ever turn back when they have the chance?" I said, throwing my hands up in exasperation, "They are so stupid. I mean, there's a big choice here. On one hand, you can go out the door and live or you can stay inside the stupid creepy mansion and die or at least be scarred for the rest of your life. What a hard choice."

Edward chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he answered.

I sighed and went back to watching the movie, but I couldn't concentrate. I was so painfully aware that Edward was only a few inches away from me. I carefully studied him from the corner of my eye.

He was wearing only a muscle shirt that was practically see-through and showed off all of his muscle. He was wearing jeans, but they also showed off the defined muscles in his legs. I looked down at myself. I was in a tank top and shorts. I looked back to Edward and knew that we didn't compare in any way.

I admired Edward's face, his perfectly chiseled features and his bronze eyes… which were now looking into mine. I jumped and looked away, blushing. I snuck another peak at Edward and saw that he was grinning crookedly at me.

I looked back to the TV and out of nowhere, a damn clown pops up and I, being absolutely terrified of clowns (And yes, I am a vampire hunter who is afraid of clowns. Can you blame me? I had this one experience where a rogue vampire was "working" as a clown. It was one of my bloodiest cases ever), jumped up, shrieked, and somehow ended up in Edward's lap.

He chuckled into my ear and I jumped again and scrambled off his lap and onto the bed. I was breathing heavily. I took a deep calming breath and blew it out in a gust.

"Stupid scary movie with the stupid scary clown," I muttered under my breath, "And stupid vampire who breathes into people's ears."

Edward chuckled again and I playfully slapped his chest. He grabbed my hand and held it to his cheek. He grinned at me crookedly again and my heart thumped in my chest. His smile grew and I felt a small smile dance on my own lips.

I rolled my eyes at him and tried to ignore him, but it was impossible to ignore him. I felt his lips at my wrist. My breath caught and I felt Edward kiss the spot where you could feel my pulse. This just made my pulse jump around like mad again.

Edward's eyes moved up to mine and I saw that they were smoldering. My breath caught again and I tried to pry my gaze away from his but once again, it wasn't working. I also tried moving away from him and nope. My body wasn't responding to my demands.

In fact, my body did the opposite. I felt myself lean towards Edward. He leaned in, too, very slowly. The moment was so weird yet so… perfect, I guess. Everything felt like it was in slow motion but in fast-forward at the same time.

Edward, perfect Edward, was just a few inches from me. He was… he was… ugh. We were only inches apart but both of us were still inching closer at a snail's pace. So close, yet so far.

And then, we were just a single inch apart, our lips almost touching. I could feel his cold breath on my lips and I'm sure he could feel my warm breath on his, though I was breathing really hard, almost panting. That was embarrassing.

But, I couldn't care less. We were so close. We just needed to move a little bit closer and…

"**Sounds like the radio**

**With the speakers blown**

**Treble high**

**And the bass down low**

**Down low" **my cell phone sang.

I jumped and then scrambled away from Edward, not meeting his gaze. I was wrapped up in my thoughts as I grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.

"Hello?" I asked, more than a little breathless.

"Oh my god! Bella, I just wanted to tell you that- wait. Are you okay?" Alice asked from the other line, noticing the tone of my voice.

"Um…" I answered, "Sure?"

"Is that a question?" she asked.

"Maybe?"

"Whatever. Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that I had a vision of you and Edward kissing!" she squealed.

"Almost," I said when her shrieking died down.

"What do you mean?"

"Your phone call interrupted what might have been Edward and I kissing."

"Damn it. It wasn't supposed to happen like that," Alice muttered.

"Look, Alice," I said, "I need to think, mmkay? I'll call you later."

Then, without waiting for an answer, I hung up on her. I put my head in my hands. Seconds later, my phone rang again. It was most likely Alice. She hates it when people hang up on her.

"What do you want, Alice?" I said, annoyed, into the phone.

"This isn't Alice," a completely different voice said from the other line.

The voice was male, smooth but husky.

"I swear to God," I said, "If that's you, Emmet, trying to prank me, I am so going to kick your ass."

"This isn't Emmet, either," the voice said again.

I swallowed, hard, and began to shiver.

"Jasper?" I asked hopefully.

"I'm not any of those animal-drinking vampires," the voice answered.

"Oh?" I asked.

"I'm much worse," he said.

"What do you want?" I asked, my vampire hunter temper kicking in.

"Why, Isabella," the vampire said matter-of-factly, "I want you."

"Why?"

"Because, you're the only one that got away from me," the vampire said.

"James," I stated, into the phone.

" 'Bout time you figured it out," James said from the other line.

"Bite me," I said into the phone.

"Oh, but I already have," James said, "Or have you forgotten?"

"How could I forget? You killed my father," I answered.

"Yes, and I just have to say, he was _very_ delicious, by the way," James said.

"Nice to know."

"I bet it is."

"But, James," I asked, "Whatever do you mean by I'm the only one that got away from you? You got my whole family."

"Not exactly, little Isabella," the vampire answered, "Many of the vampires that had been in the house were pissed off after I caused the frenzy. They weren't too happy about that. So, before I could take a bite out of one of your other family members, I was driven out of the and far, far away from the house. So, you see, Bella. My venom only ran through your veins at one point in time."

I remained silent and fuming. I wasn't going to give this damn sadistic vampire the satisfaction of my anger. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of threatening him. I was going to remain calm, collected and mature. I opened my mouth-

"You're a jackass that doesn't deserve to live! I'm going to fucking kill you!" I yelled into the phone.

Damn. So much for calm, collected and mature… My bad. James chuckled into the phone.

"So naïve," he said, "It is I who will kill you, Isabella."

"I'm a vampire hunter," I said angrily into the phone, "I've been hunting your kind for a very, very long time. Who do you think has the upper hand?"

"Actually, dear Isabella," James answered, "I have the upper hand. You see, I have something of yours that I doubt you can lose again."

"Ian," I whispered brokenly.

"Yes, Ian," James said, "You see, I've always tracked you and I've gotten close to you a number of times. One of those times was when you tried to burn your boyfriend after one of the rogue vampires killed him. After you blindly drove away that awful night, I saved him, knowing that if he changed, he'd be a perfect weapon, which I could kill you with."

"So you're going to have Ian kill me?"

"No, oh, no. I am going to kill Ian if you don't turn yourself into me in the next 48 hours," James said.

"What?" I yelled into the phone.

"That's right. If you don't come to me in the next 48 hours, I will kill your precious Ian. Here's a little message from him."

I heard some shuffling from James's end of the phone. I guessed he was passing the phone to someone or something. And then Ian's voice, still as I remembered it but only more musical, wafted to my ears.

"Bella? Bella?" he asked, his voice frantic, "What's going on? Don't let James kill me. Please, don't. Bella. Bella, I love you."

And then his voice was gone, replaced by more shuffling. Then, James's voice hit my ears.

"Lovely message, don't ya think?" he said.

"Where?" I asked.

"Excuse me, Isabella?" he asked.

"Where am I meeting you?" I repeated, enunciating each syllable.

"There's a dance studio, about three blocks to the left of the hotel you're at." I shivered at that and I had no idea how, but James seemed to sense it. "That's right," he continued, "I've been watching you. Now, Isabella, your 48-hour countdown starts right about…" he paused for three seconds before saying, "Now."

With that, he hung up, leaving the line dead. I stayed on the bathroom floor with my head in my hands, unmoving for an undeterminable amount of time. All I could think was, _How am I going to get away from Edward?_


	21. She Is Love

Not after long, heavy banging on the bathroom door interrupted my thoughts. I started and jumped to my feet. I opened the door and met the fuming gaze of Edward Cullen.

"Er…" I said, not sure what I was going to say, since I was pretty sure he had heard that whole phone conversation.

"Er…" I said again, trying to find a way out.

"James… called… you," he stated, taking deep, unneeded, and ragged breaths in between words.

"Er…" I said once more.

"I only heard you're end of the conversation. The bathroom door was too thick and the volume and James's voice on the phone wasn't loud enough for me to hear his side of the conversation. But your side of the conversation was enough," he said.

"Uh…" I said, at least I didn't say "Er" again.

"You're really going to meet James?!" Edward exploded.

"I… was… planning… to…?" I said slowly, turning it into a question.

"Are you an idiot!" he yelled.

"No!" I answered, snapping out of my thoughtful daze.

"Then, why!" he shouted.

"He's threatening Ian!" I shouted back.

"So, what? You still love Ian?" he asked quietly.

"No," I answered, my voice breaking in several places, "No, I don't love Ian. Well, I'll always love him but… not in a romantic way, at least not anymore. It's just… I can't live with myself if he dies for good, because of me… again."

Edward visibly relaxed and then enveloped me in a tight embrace.

"You don't have to feel obligated to save hi-" Edward tried to say but I cut him off.

"But I do, Edward. I caused all of this. I need to set it right," I said.

"You don't _have_ to, Bella," he insisted.

"Edward, of course I have to do thi-" I tried to say, but he cut me off this time.

Suddenly, my back was against the wall and Edward hit it (the wall, that is), making a noticeable dent.

"Dammit, Bella," he said, "You're not going."

"Why not!" I yelled at him.

"Because, god dammit, Bella, if I lose you…" he trailed off.

"Edward," I said quietly, "Oh, Edward."

And then suddenly, his lips were crushing mine or maybe my lips were crushing his. Either way, we were kissing and all of our pent up frustration was poured into the kiss. When he broke away so I could breathe, I put my head on his chest.

"Edward," I said quietly again, "I have to do this. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't."

"Bella," he answered, sounding like he'd cry if he could, "I can't lose you. I can't. I've waited so long for someone like you and I _will not lose you_."

"Edw-" he cut me off again. He slapped his open hand against the wall.

"Bella!" he said, "I love you. I need that to get into your stubborn head. I can't live without you. If you die, I'm as good as dead, too."

I threw my head back in exasperation and when I looked back at Edward, his eyes were smoldering. He kissed me again. I kissed him back, or well, more like melted into him. This kiss was less urgent, more persuading and gentler. And I realized something.

I didn't have _just_ a crush on Edward. It explains why my heart was always beating unevenly around him. It explains why I couldn't keep my eyes off him for more than a minute since we got to the hotel. It explains all my reactions to him.

When we pulled back, I was almost gasping for air.

"Edward Cullen, you are going to be the death of me, I swear," I said.

"And you will be the death of me," he answered coolly.

"What does this mean?" I asked.

"I have no clue. What do you think it means?" he asked.

"I think," I said, "That the lamb has finally stopped running from the lion."

"And…?" Edward prompted.

"And the lamb is, at least, _starting_ to love the lion back," I answered with a smile.

"So, I have a chance?" Edward asked.

"A small one," I answered, teasing.

My smile fell when I realized what brought the whole confession thing. James. I sighed and Edward's smile fell too. I could see that he wouldn't change his mind by the way his jaw was set and his eyes were hard.

"Please?" I asked.

"Nope," he answered.

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms and waking into the bedroom.

He wasn't expecting me to give up like that. And he was right. I didn't. I just pretended to give in to plan how I was going to get away from Edward. I lay down on the bed, turned on my side and thought.

I felt Edward climb into bed beside me. It had been dark when we first started watching the clown movie, so now the sun had completely set. I felt drained from all of the excitement that day.

I didn't want to sleep but I couldn't fight the way my eyelids were drooping with emotional exhaustion.

I thought about today. It was definitely tiring. I mean, finding out James had been stalking me in Phoenix, kissing Edward, finding out that my feelings for Edward were deeper than a crush (Of course, I wasn't totally head over heels. I mean, I still need some time. But, I could definitely see myself completely in love with Edward some time in the future), and finally deciding to sneak out and meet James despite Edward's opinions.

I had to figure out a plan tomorrow, I realized as my eyes drifted closed and then stayed closed. A plan insane enough to outsmart Edward.

Oh, joy.

* * *

**Okay, so really short chapter.**

**I hope that I didn't upset any of you guys by having Bella's confession in this chapter.**

**But, it had to happen sooner or later.**

**Lol.**

**Plus, I wanted Bella to confess before she...**

**Well, before she does what she does in the next chapter.**

**Hahaha.**

**So, yeah.**

**Love you guys!**

**Please review!**

**-Jules  
**


	22. 2nd AN

**Sorry I haven't updated in a really long time.**

**I've got writer's block.**

**Anyone have any ideas?**

**Sorry, again!**

**If you guys have any ideas, send in a review or PM me please!**

**-Jules**


	23. Sorry, another AN

**Okay, guys.**

**Just wanted to let you know that I'm writing the next chapter right now.**

**Some of you sent me your ideas and I'm gladly using the one that Evanescence14220 gave me.**

**I'd like to thank Captain Kathryn Cullen and amenah for sending in ideas as well.**

**I appreciate the help!**

**I am also glad to say that the next chapter will be up soon, so keep checking in!**

**I love you all!**

**And thank you, again, to those who sent in their ideas!!!!!!!**

**-Jules**


	24. The First Time

"Bella," Edward pleaded the next evening, "Please, don't go. Don't even think about it anymore. You have no obligation to Ian whatsoever."

I thought about it for a minute and decided. He'd been pleading all day.

"You know what?" I said to Edward, "You're right. I don't owe anything to him."

"Wait," Edward asked, "You're not arguing?"

"No," I said, "I've decided. I'm not going to go after him."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, turning to him, "I don't want to be away from you, Edward. I love you too much to risk losing you. I know that if I risk my life, I'm risking yours too. I love you so much."

"As I love you, Bella," Edward said, kissing me on the lips.

I pulled away from him, feeling sick from the guilt and walked into the bathroom. I kept telling myself that I had to do this, but I couldn't help but feel horrible for lying to Edward. I wasn't lying when I told him I loved him a lot. I was lying when I was telling him that I wouldn't risk my life.

But then again, I didn't expect Edward to believe me. I had no idea that I could lie that well. Usually, I'm a terrible liar.

So, this was my plan: I would convince Edward that I wouldn't leave to save Ian, I'd make the best of my time with him, and then when he checks out of the hotel tomorrow, I'll sneak out and go save Ian. If I survived, I'd come back to live with Edward. If I didn't survive, well… I don't know.

I felt horrible lying to him. Edward. I'd just truly realized how deep I was in for this guy. The way he made me react to him was… whoa. Just thinking about him made my heart swell with emotion.

I was going to leave him and I was probably not going to come back. I knew that this was going to kill him. I knew that if I died, he would die too. But I had to do this. It was my fault that Ian was the way he is today.

Leaving Edward would definitely break my heart and his, but it was only for a few hours… if I survived. Damn that phrase. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I swore to myself that I would do everything in my power to come back to Edward, anything to be in his arms again.

Then, I asked myself if I wanted anything from Edward tonight, anything that I wanted to do just in case I didn't live. Asking myself that question, I knew what I wanted. I wanted to make love with Edward.

The only problem was that I knew Edward was old-fashioned. But, as cliché as it sounds, I didn't want to die a virgin. Yes, I'm a virgin. I know what you're thinking. Didn't I do it with Ian? No, I didn't, actually. The night he was killed, we were just making out.

But Edward. I really wanted him to be my first and I really wanted this experience. I was determined; I would get what I want if it was the last thing I did with him. I know that asking him would be very selfish of me, but, for once, I want to do something for me.

Besides, I was already going to hell, you know so screw it. Hehe. Screw it. More like screw _him_. Oh, god. Here come the mental sex jokes…

I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts invading my mind. I unconsciously began to pace. It was normal, feeling like this before your first time, right? I mean, once again, I say I _am_ a virgin. But, the fact that this happened to all girls didn't help the butterflies in my stomach.

I decided to take a quick shower to relax myself. So, I let the water relax and warm my muscles. I let all my worries slip away.

Once out of the shower, my worries hit me like a ton of bricks, and my breathing sped up while my heart pounded in my chest. _Okay, Bella_, I told myself, _You can do this. Just breathe. Turn up the charm. You'll be okay._

I walked out of the bathroom in nothing but Edward's button-down t-shirt and underwear. When Edward saw me, he gasped in surprise and growled lowly. His eyes turned black with lust and I played with the hem of his shirt nervously.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he asked.

"Sort of," I muttered too low for even him to hear.

"What was that, love?" Edward asked.

I didn't say anything for fear of my voice shaking. Instead, I walked to the bed and began kissing Edward.

A few hours ago, he'd told me that since he'd been around my scent for so long, its potency wore off and was bearable now, so I didn't have to worry about him biting me. When I told him that I didn't understand how he'd been around me so much, he confessed that he'd watch me sleep in my room and sniff my shirts.

He seemed really embarrassed by that but I thought it was cute, after I got over the fact that he kind of stalked me…

By now, the kiss between Edward and me was turning a bit frenzied, but Edward pulled back to look at me.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked.

"Do you love me?" I questioned.

"More than anything else in the entire universe," he answered, "Why?"

"I'm scared," I admitted, and it was the truth.

"Of what?" Edward asked gently.

"I don't know," I answered, but that was a lie.

I knew exactly what I was afraid of. I was afraid of leaving him tomorrow and not coming back.

"Don't be, love. Everything will be alright," Edward said, kissing me again.

I felt another pang of guilt, but I pushed it away so that only my love and passion would show for Edward, for my soul mate and love.

"Edward," I said, pleading, "I know what you're going to say after I ask you, but please. Just consider it."

"What's wrong, Bella? What do you want?" he questioned.

"I want… you… to make love to me," I said, my face burning from a blush.

"I can't do that, love," Edward said, "I might hurt you. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you."

"Edward," I said, "I've taken down hundreds of vampires. I'm sure I can protect myself from you. Besides, you won't hurt me. I know you."

"I can't, Bella," Edward said, "I'd never forgive myself if I let something happen to you."

My heart caught in my throat. _Go away guilt, go away_, I chanted to myself. I pushed it away again and began to kiss Edward once more. He kissed back.

"I can't, Bella," Edward said, pulling away from me.

"You can, Edward," I retorted, looking deep into his eyes.

"I wanted to marry you first," Edward admitted.

"Edward," I said and couldn't stop the tears that overflowed from my eyes.

"Bella," Edward said, alarmed, "Love, what's wrong? Honey, tell me what's wrong."

"I don't know," I admitted, "I'm so scared and confused and all I really want is you. It's just… I don't know!"

More tears streamed down my face and I was barely aware that I was going hysterical. For what? I have no idea. What I said was the truth. I'm scared and confused. I had no idea why I was crying.

"Bella," Edward said, "Love, calm down."

I didn't. In fact, I think I cried even harder. Finally, Edward just pressed his lips to each of my closed eyes, my nose, and then my mouth. He kissed me passionately and I kissed back.

This kiss was definitely different. This kiss was where both Edward and I poured our emotions to each other. All of my confusion, fear, excitement, love and passion for him were in that kiss. All of his love, devotion, lust, and certainty were in his kiss.

It slowly deepened, and soon our tongues were fighting for dominance. And then suddenly, clothes were being torn off and I was in a constant state of ecstasy, as was Edward.

Our world slowly built pressure before erupting in pure pleasure and bliss.

* * *

The next morning, I found myself naked in the hotel bed, next to Edward. At first, my memory was a little foggy, but then I remembered that he and I had… well… you know. I smiled and snuggled deeper into his chest.

But then, I also remembered what I was going to have to do today. I wrapped my arms around Edward's chest and squeezed. He chuckled and kissed my hair.

I looked up at him and saw that he was already looking down at me. He was frowning slightly and I looked around. I realized that I was slightly sore and that white stuff covered the whole room.

I picked one up and saw that it was feathers.

"Feathers?" I asked, confused.

"I… kinda bit a pillow or three," he admitted sheepishly.

I laughed and examined my own body. I found a few bruises on my arms but nothing else was wrong with me. I smiled up at the love of my life.

"See," I said, "You didn't hurt me."

"You have bruises," he pointed out, frowning.

"Only a few," I argued.

"Do you hurt?" he asked.

"Not at all," I answered, grinning.

"That's good," he said, satisfied that I wasn't in pain and the bruises didn't look too bad. He must have controlled himself very well.

"Shouldn't we check out soon?" I asked, dreading the answer, but knowing I had to ask.

Edward misinterpreted it, "I know, I don't want to leave and go back to a family who will never leave us alone either."

I forced a smile and hoped it was genuine.

"I'll pack up for both of us," he said, "Since I can do it faster. Just get dressed and then I'll go check out and we'll be on our way."

I nodded and grabbed an outfit before walking into the bathroom to take a shower.

I left my worries outside of the shower once again. I made sure that I was extra clean. I reveled in the feel of the warm water on my sore muscles.

I smiled again when I thought about last night. It had been absolutely perfect. He was sweet and gentle. I was happy that he was my first.

My smile fell at the prospect of leaving him today, though. I made myself forget about that for now, and went through all of my good memories before I finally got out of the shower and changed into jeans and a loose t-shirt.

Once I got out of the shower, Edward was immediately at my side, kissing me deeply. I reciprocated, scared that this was going to be the last kiss I ever had from Edward.

He pulled away and chuckled, "A little over excited are we?"

"Yeah," I said, though it was a total lie.

I kissed him again, sweetly, but conveying my love for him. He smiled his crooked grin for me.

"Well," he said, and I was sure I was dreading this part, "I'm going to check us out now. All of our stuff is packed already. I called for a bell boy and he took our stuff downstairs so we're all good."

"That's great," I said, though I was dying inside.

"Yeah," he said, "I'll check us out. Wanna meet me downstairs?"

"Yes," I answered, smiling.

"I love you," he said, pecking me on the lips again.

"I love you too," I said, fighting the tears that were trying to spring to my eyes.

I watched as the love of my life walked out of the hotel, knowing that this might be the last time I ever saw him. My heart was breaking but I put aside the pain and waited two minutes to be sure he was gone.

That's when I really started moving. I walked out of the hotel room and close the door, not all the way, but enough. I walked purposefully towards the stairs and ran down them as fast and quietly as I could.

Which was pretty fast and pretty quiet. I didn't meet anyone on the stairs and as I reached the lobby level, I scanned the lobby and saw Edward talking to someone at the check-out desk.

It looked as if he was in an argument and I breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, he'd be to wrapped up to notice my scent. I took a deep breath before running out of the hotel lobby, into the morning sun.

I didn't look back at all as I ran. I knew that I had limited time on my hands, but I also knew that if I got away fast enough, Edward wouldn't be able to find me. After all, he didn't know where James was.

Edward had said that he'd only heard my side of the conversation. I was careful not to mention where James was hiding.

Pushing all thoughts of Edward away, I ran as fast as I could, as fast as my legs would take me. I saw the dance studio James had been talking about and swallowed loudly.

I did a few quick stretches, getting my muscles ready to fight. I took a deep breath and that's when I walked into the dance studio, knowing fully well that I could, and probably would, be dead within the next hour.

* * *

**EPOV**

Good lord, Bella is going to be the death of me. Last night was just… amazing. I'm sure that neither of us knew how it happened, but it did. I was completely ecstatic that I hadn't hurt her and didn't do something drastic like rip the headboard off the bed or anything.

She was almost completely unscathed, except for a few bruises that were already starting to heal. So, of course, I was completely happy.

At the present moment, I was talking to the check-out guy who was telling me something was wrong with my credit card. Once that was cleared up, I looked around the lobby for Bella.

I couldn't find her, which was weird because of my vampire senses. I looked harder but still couldn't find her. I shrugged, figuring she was brushing her teeth or something. I waited another fifteen minutes for her.

By then, I was getting a little impatient. I wanted to be near Bella. I _needed _to be near Bella.

I was going to go back upstairs to the room to check for her when my cell phone rang. I flipped it open.

"Hello?" I said.

"Edward?" Alice asked, frantically, "Oh my god, Edward. Is Bella there with you? Please tell me she's with you."

"Alice?" I said, "Wait. Calm down. Bella is still in the hotel room. I'm waiting for her in the lobby."

"Are you sure?" Alice answered, "You have to be sure, Edward. I just had a vision and… it's not good. It's definitely not good. I have no idea what's going on."

I heard loud noise on her end of the phone.

"Alice," I asked, "Where are you?"

"On a plane," she answered, "We're going to be there in an hour. You're going to need our help."

"What?" I asked, "What the hell is going on, Alice?"

"Last night, I had a vision of you two going at it. After that, I saw nothing, but I thought nothing of it because I wasn't looking for her future," Alice answered, "But just now, I was looking for her future and was coming up blank. Then, I got a snippet of James thrashing her around a mirrored room. Bella's made a decision that leads her to the room. She's going to die there if we don't help her."

"Bella," I growled.

I ran up the stairs to our level, using vampire speed. I ran to our room and found it slightly open. I opened it and called out to Bella but there was no answer. It was still. I cursed and had to stop myself from punching a hole in the wall.

"Alice," I said, panicking, "She isn't at the hotel. She's gone to find James."

"We're trying to get there as soon as we can," Alice said, "James is just going to be playing with her for the first few hours. Ian will either help Bella survive or help James kill her, he's changing his mind from time to time so I can't be sure."

"I have to go to her," I said to Alice.

She had lied to me. I was so upset with myself, but I wasn't upset with Bella. No. I could never be upset with Bella. She was thinking of Ian when she ran to James.

It hurt to think that she wasn't thinking of me. Though, knowing her, she probably was. She was probably beating herself up about it, too. But she had a duty.

That was one of he things I hated and loved about her. She had a sense of duty, but she felt that she always had to do her duty.

But, god, this was all my fault. I hadn't paid attention to the signs. I'd ignored them.

"Don't, Edward," Alice said, "I know you're beating yourself up for this, but don't. It was Bella's decision. I'm not blaming Bella, either. I'm just telling you to keep your cool. Stay near where James is hiding. Wait for the rest of us before you go barging in. You're going to need our help. Okay, Edward?"

"Okay," I whispered brokenly.

"I know," Alice said, "I love her too and I am worrying my ass off, but it won't do any good if you go barging in on your own. She'll be okay. She'll be good for another few hours. She won't need our help for a while."

"I got it, Alice," I said, still whispering brokenly.

"Hang on, Edward. We're on our way," she said, "And then you can go beat James up as bad as you want."

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem," she answered, "Just… hang in there."

I hung up, then. I sat on the bed with my head in my hands. I thought of my Bella and hoped to god that Alice was right. I kept my right hand in a clenched fist on my thigh.

I was cursing myself for interpreting all of her actions this morning the wrong way. I was such an idiot. I seriously wanted to punch through a few walls but I restrained myself. Instead, I looked up at the ceiling and sent a silent prayer to anyone listening.

_Bella_, I thought, _Please let her better be alright_.

* * *

**How was it?  
**

**I hope it was okay.**

**With both Bella's and Edward's POV.**

**It was really awkward for me to write the whole sex thing.**

**I hope I wrote that okay too.**

**And just to clear up, Edward only bit three pillows and gave Bella a few bruises.**

**The bruises weren't that bad.**

**As Edward said, they had already been starting to heal in the morning when she woke up.  
**

**I'm also really sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter.**

**I promise that you won't have to wait as long for the next chapter.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I don't think I did too well on this chapter, but I hope I did.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading!**

**I love you all!**

**Oh, and we're only a few more chapters away from the end!**

**-Jules  
**


	25. Falling Away

The dance studio was dark and quiet as I slowly walked across the wooden floors. I made sure to not make any sound. I tiptoed across the room to a room where I could see light filtering from under the door.

I knew that I was going to have to bring out my best while in the studio. James wouldn't give me any mercy. And I was willing to return the favor. I took a quick moment to center myself and let Badass Bella out of her internal cage.

I reminded her that we had everything to lose, everything to fight for. I reminded Badass Bella that we had to get out of this alive. I centered myself once again, putting Badass Bella on edge.

I took a deep breath, my heart hammering in my chest and steeled myself before kicking the door open and running in. I looked around the room and saw… nothing. I was momentarily confused but then somebody grabbed me from behind, securing my neck in a chokehold.

"You tricked me," I stated, matter-of-factly.

"You believed me," James whispered, retorting from behind me.

"Where's Ian?" I asked.

"He's here," James said, leading me out of the room and back into the main room with the mirrors, "He helped me lure you here, you know?"

"I figured," I sighed.

"You don't seem too angry," James said.

"I know," I said.

"I thought you'd put up more of a fight," James said.

"You haven't seen anything, yet, James," I warned.

"Dear Isabella," James said, turning me around to face him, "Don't you _see_? I've already won. You're here, with me. Victoria and Ian are guarding all possible exits. It's just you and me…"

As he trailed his last sentence off, he caressed my cheek.

"Go to hell, James," I spat.

"Oh but Isabella," James said, "_You're_ the one who's going to hell today."

"We'll see, James," I replied, "We'll see."

He tried to punch my face, but I ducked and used my leg to sweep his feet from underneath him. Using his vampire speed, he put his hands in front of him to break his fall and push himself back up.

He started laughing, almost hysterically.

"This is going to be interesting," he said.

Then, he lunged for me. I side-stepped but he immediately altered his route. He crashed into me, making me fall to the floor. Damn his vampire senses.

He brought his leg up to crush my own, but I rolled out of his way. He, almost gleefully, jumped on me and straddled me. He deliberately leaned into me and I struggled as he purposefully licked my cheek.

"Did you know that your blood still calls to me, Isabella?" he asked.

I growled and he laughed again.

"We're going to have so much fun, Isabella!" James announced and tried to snap at my jaw.

I moved my hands to face palm downwards behind my lower back. Pushing as hard as I could, I flipped so that James was underneath me. Using all of my weight and strength, I pinned him to the ground.

"I'm going to enjoy this," I admitted.

I proceeded to punch James (In a way that hurt him, a vampire, more than it hurt me) and he just laughed like he was insane. I rolled off him and got into a crouch. He crouched too and then flew at me.

I timed it correctly, and managed to kick him squarely in the gut, sending him flying in the opposite direction. He growled and there was a loud waterfall of falling glass as the mirror shattered.

I smirked as James got up and dusted himself off. I could see that, even through his rock hard skin, the glass had managed to cut James up. He saw me smirking and growled, before bursting into insane laughter.

"You're very good, Isabella," he said.

"My name is Bella," I said through clenched teeth.

"Isabella," James said, completely ignoring what I just said, "You've certainly grown up."

I said nothing.

"You've come a long way," he continued.

Suddenly, he lunged for me and I threw myself forward, rolled and then jumped to my feet to face James.

"Nice," he commented.

I didn't respond. I kept my eyes trained on his movements. He lunged again, and I was getting ready to side step when he suddenly mirrored my movement, and we were face to face.

"So predictable," he said as if he were disappointed.

I suddenly stepped in between James's legs, so that my right foot was in between his legs, and brought my right elbow up. I jammed it into his throat. This made him stagger backwards, which gave me enough time and distance to run, jump, and then execute a back-kick which hit James's squarely on the temple.

"Don't. Under. Estimate. Me," I growled.

James stood up and smiled. God, this vampire was really insane.

"You keep surprising me," James said, "First, a vampire boyfriend after all of your years as a vampire hunter and now your fighting skills. They've definitely improved."

I didn't respond. I still focused on his movements. I didn't allow myself to get distracted. I centered myself. Centering myself was the usual key to my success as a vampire hunter.

"Well," I finally said, "I'm just that unpredicitable."

James barked more laughter. But, his grin was wiped off his face as he strode towards me.

"I think play time is over," he announced.

I didn't have any type of warning, so I couldn't have seen it coming, but suddenly, James had me by the collar of my shirt, the cool mirror against my back. He was in my face, smiling.

"I hope you burn in hell," he said before leaning in towards my neck.

I thrashed and struggled, anything to get away from James. I felt him lick my throat and I whimpered from my fright. Before James could bite me, though, somebody crashed through the front door.

Both James and I turned to see who it was. Ian stood there, looking _pissed_.

"What is it, Ian?" James asked exasperatedly, "I'm _busy_, if you can't see."

Ian abruptly flew across the room and tackled James to the ground, making many of the floorboards come loose. I fell to the ground but quickly stood up and embraced a crouching stance.

I watched as Ian and James wrestled. I briefly wondered what had gotten into Ian. Was he actually helping me? My thoughts were cut off by a female screech, followed by my head being pounded into a mirror.

"Son of a-!" I cursed and twisted to see Victoria sneering next to me.

"You're going down, hunter," Victoria said.

"Bring it on, bitch," I retorted.

She lunged at me and I rolled out of the way. I swiftly stood up as Victoria recovered from running into the mirror. She glared at me and I let one corner of my mouth lift up in a smirk.

She flew at me and I ducked. At the right time, I punched upwards and managed to punch Victoria in the stomach. She hissed as she hit the floor.

"I told you to bring it," I taunted.

Badass Bella was on a roll. Victoria looked wary as she stood back up and lowered into a crouch. She stepped to the side and I mirrored her movements, staying parallel with her. We circled each other, never once breaking stride.

I was the first to move, throwing her off. I rolled so that I knelt on one knee in front of Victoria. I poked her eyes with my index and middle finger. Then, I reached into my pocket while she was distracted, and brought out a lighter and a small can of gasoline. (I picked up the lighter from the hotel, and I packed the can of gasoline when I got ready to fly to Phoenix in case I needed it)

I put some of the gasoline in my mouth, careful not to swallow or taste any of it, and spit it out while I held the lighter, which was lit at the moment, in front of my lips. Basically, I breathed fire onto her, setting her hair on fire.

I smiled as I continuously kicked and punched Victoria, preventing her from putting out the fire that was spreading in her hair. I inconspicuously slipped the lighter and the small can of gasoline back into my pocket.

The beating she was getting was cut short when something flew into me, tackling me to the ground. I looked up into the James's eyes. I looked for Ian and found him already running to get James off me.

Once Ian hauled James off me, I stood up again. Victoria was abruptly in front of me, a large part of her hair burned to a crisp. She gave me a good punch in the jaw and I felt one of my teeth come out of its socket.

I spit it out and saw that it was one of my molars.

"Jesus christ," I said, "That was my molar, idiot!"

I grimaced at Victoria who smirked as if she won something. I glared before taking a small step forward and then spinning, just to land a kick hard enough to send Victoria sprawling on the ground.

"You broke my nose!" she yelled.

I grabbed her by the hair and I hissed in her ear.

"That's what you get when you mess with me," I said and, using all of my strength, picked her up and threw her against the mirror.

Another mirror cracked and then shattered. Victoria lay unmoving on the floor. James roared in anger. I whipped around in time to see him toss Ian aside like a rag doll. Then, he had me by my collar.

He threw me across the room and I landed painfully on my side. He stepped on my leg, exerting enough pressure to make it snap like a twig. I refused to cry out in pain so I settled for glaring at James.

He bared his teeth at me. I didn't show any reaction as he leaned in close to me.

"You're going to regret doing that to my mate," he said.

I simply stared at him. Then, I spit in his face. He seemed shocked and then he started laughing, like he was insane, again.

"You just keep surprising me," he said, "It's almost a shame that I have to kill you. But just almost."

He leaned in to bite me but, with my good leg, I kicked the hand that had been supporting his hand, making him lean the other way. I rolled that way, ignoring the searing pain in my leg.

"Ah, ah, ah," James said disapprovingly.

I balled my hand into a fist and backhanded James in the face. James growled and then grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to him. He licked my neck again and I felt my panic begin to grow again. I looked for Ian but didn't find him anywhere.

"Ian!" I yelled, "Ian! _Please_ help me! _Please_!"

Something barreled into James from behind. James released me and I staggered away from him, leaning against a pillar to catch my breath from the pain. I looked up to see James and Ian wrestling again.

What I didn't expect so see was James ripping Ian's arm out of its socket and throwing it all the way across the room. I cried out as I saw that James was winning over Ian. Within what seemed like a few minutes, Ian was in pieces and James was stalking to the pile of his limbs.

I couldn't see how because my eyes blurred with tears, but James managed to start a fire and throw Ian's body into the flames. I closed my eyes and thought, _Ian, I'm so sorry. I failed you. Please forgive me._

When I opened my eyes again, I was filled with a new determination. That determination was threatened to be squished as I saw Victoria get up from the floor and smirk at me.

It was just me against two vampires. And I had a broken leg. Come on, Badass Bella. Let's do this.

Victoria and James lunged for me at the same time. I rolled forward, ignoring the pain in my leg, out of their reach. They crashed into each other, with the sound of boulders clashing. James lunged at me and I roundhouse kicked him to the side, with my good leg. Then, I side-kicked Victoria, with the same leg I used to kick James.

Victoria came at me again, recovering quickly from the previous blow. I punched her in the gut, making her stagger backwards into James. James smirked before pushing her at me and I crouched, grabbed Victoria's legs, and then flipped her over my shoulder, making sure her head hit the floor. Hard.

James ran at me and I limped out of his way. He ended up tripping over Victoria. _Nice_, I thought, _I made him trip_. I didn't have time to celebrate because both James and Victoria stood up fluidly and walked towards me at the same time.

How was I going to get out of this one? I looked around frantically, unable to find an exit. My back hit something cold and solid. I hadn't realized that I'd been limping backwards until I hit one of the mirrors.

I swallowed hard, knowing that I stood no chance. I was about ready to give up when I saw and heard something that filled me with burning determination, strength, and hope. Edward Cullen had burst through the front door.

He eyed me, backed into a corner and then lunged for James. I saw as the others, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Rose, Emmett, and Jasper, walked into the room, too. They immediately strode for the fire, trying to keep it under control.

I looked at Victoria, whose gaze was darting around violently. I kicked her chest hard enough to send her flying. I limped to her and dragged her by her hair to the fire. She struggled, hard, but I wasn't letting her go.

When I got to the fire, I gesture to Emmett to help me tear her apart. I tore and tore, and Emmett helped. I ignored Victoria's cries and instead focused on throwing her into the flames. When I was done with Victoria, I looked around for Edward.

Edward had James by the neck, up against one of the mirrors. This time, Alice and Rose were the one who were helping Edward pull James apart. We added James's remains to the fire.

I took out my small can of gasoline and spread it around the studio, limping as I did so. Everyone saw what I was doing and strode quickly out of the dance studio. I was the last to exit.

Before I left, I dropped my lighter onto the floor and the whole place burst into flames. Edward was immediately at my side, crushing me into his chest. I gladly hugged him back. Then, I kissed him and it was so passionate that I felt as if the top of my head was going to shoot upwards.

"Bella," he said after pulling away, "God dammit, don't ever do that to me again. I was so worried. I was so scared."

"I'm so sorry," I said, "I'm just glad you're here. I'm glad you got there when you did. Oh, Edward."

We kissed again but our family interrupted us.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Rose asked angrily.

"Why, Bella?" Alice questioned, "_Why_?"

Surprisingly, Esme was the only one who asked about my obvious connection with Edward.

"When did you and Edward happened?" she asked.

I sighed but then limped towards them and threw my arms around them. We hugged for a few minutes and the boys eventually joined in.

"Thank you," I said, "Thanks all of you."

"You did nice work, though," Alice commented, "I saw how you fended and you did _very_ well.

I grinned cheekily.

"Bella," Carlisle said, "I think I should look at your leg. What happened to it?"

"James stepped on it," I said, grimacing.

Carlisle probed my leg and seemed disappointed in what he felt.

"You're going to need X-rays and you're definitely going to need a cast," he said.

"I don't care," I admitted, "I just want to go home."

And that's what we did, happily and together.

* * *

**And that's practically the end.**

**The next chapter is just an epilogue chap.**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

**I really want to know how I did with the whole Badass Bella thing.**

**I love you all!**

**Thank you for sticking with me throughout this fic!**

**I LOVE YOU AND I THANK YOU!!!!!!**

**-Jules  
**


	26. Epilogue: Can't Hold Us Down

Back at home, Carlisle took an x-ray of my leg. It was a clean break so it should heal nicely, but he advised that I stay off of it for a full week. I did as he asked and Edward waited on me hand and foot. I loved it.

We even made love once more, when both of us got a little too sexually frustrated to be bearable. Two days after that, I started throwing up. I was also snapping at people because I wanted to get up and move, but couldn't.

I was also annoyed because Alice kept on complaining about how she couldn't see my future. I was getting really pissed off because I had all this pent-up energy. And that was just the first day.

So, what did I do? I thought about the past few months. Coming to Forks for a vacation, moving here, meeting the Cullens, the club, everything. I smiled as I realized something. Even through our differences, we managed to fall in love with each other. All of us met our soul mates, and none of us could be happier.

On the fifth day of the week, I was so bored that I was staring at my stomach. I was playing with my shirt. I tightened it over my stomach and saw a bulge that hadn't been there a week before.

I quickly pulled my t-shirt up to show my stomach and saw a defined bump.

"What the!" I shouted staring at the bump.

As soon as I shouted, something inside of me… nudged me. I put my hand over the bump and rubbed. It nudged again. What the hell was in my stomach? Wait…

No. There was no way in hell. There was absolutely no freaking way, no. No. No. Oh my god, there was _no_ way.

"CARLISLE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Carlisle appeared in the doorway before flashing to my side.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I pointed to the bulge in my stomach and whispered, "It nudged me."

"What are you-?" he broke off suddenly.

"You mean, it…?" he trailed off.

"I mean, it _nudged me_," I said.

"Edward!" Carlisle shouted, "Get in here!"

Edward was by my side in a flash.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Have you and Bella had sex?" Carlisle asked, all business.

"Yes," Edward answered, sounding embarrassed, "Twice."

"Bella?" Carlisle asked, "Have you had sex with anybody but Edward?"

"No," I answered, "Never."

"May I?" Carlisle asked, gesturing to my slightly enlarged stomach.

"Go ahead," I said.

He put a hand to my stomach. I didn't gasp from the temperature, and my instincts didn't scream at me anymore now that I was in love with a vampire. They hadn't said anything since the hotel back in Phoenix. Carlisle probed my stomach gently and then something nudged again.

Carlisle froze.

"Please tell me you felt that," I said.

"I… certainly did feel it," Carlisle said.

"Feel what?" Edward asked, sounding stressed and panicked because he no doubt was.

"I felt… your baby… kick," Carlisle said, sounding bewildered.

"_Baby_?" Edward asked incredulously.

"Yes," I said, completely bewildered too, "Somehow, we conceived. Edward, I'm _pregnant_."

* * *

**And that is the official end of Differences**.

**Give me one last review for the heck of it, please!!!!**

**I love you guys!**

**Thank you _so_ much for sticking with me on this fan fic!**

**Thank you for all of your reviews, too!**

**Check out my other fics too, please!**

**And again, I plead, REVIEW ONE LAST TIME FOR ME!!!!!**

**THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!**

**-Jules  
**


	27. IF YOU WANT A SEQUEL

**Oh and just another quick AN.**

**If you want a sequel, you'll have to review and tell me you want it. ;]**

**-Jules**


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